Trail of Crimson
by Sandstorm Inkwell
Summary: During a mission to investigate a rally point of Jul'Mdama, Crimson team discovers a transit system in the towers. Activating it, the team is ordered to go through it. Spartan Lyons finds himself being the last of the team to do so. A sudden turn of events, though, send him to a land of talking ponies. What will come of this war hardened Spartan? MLPxHalo. /-ON HOLD-\
1. Chapter 1

"Hold your ground Crimson!" shouted Lieutenant Czymbor, her stolen Suppressor flashing like a strobe light. The Covie forces had pushed us against the wall of the installation as we tried to hold our position. The marines that had been here were all dead, overwhelmed by the mixture of Covie and Promethean forces.

I raised my Assault Rifle and fired a burst into a charging, suicidal Grunt. The little demon fell over dead, the two glowing blue orbs it had been holding falling to the ground. A couple seconds later, the two orbs exploded in a brilliant blue flash that took out a couple nearby Grunts and Jackals.

"Wraith!" shouted Bale.

"Got it!" replied Logan as he jumped onto the installation's wall and blasted away at the incoming vehicle with the Machine Gun he had wrenched off it's tripod. After two Wraith blasts and what must have been the longest single burst of MG fire in history, the Wraith exploded in a shower of blue and purple sparks.

"Spread out and finish them off!" Czymbor ordered. I was quick to do so, jumping over one of the installation walls and falling on top of an Elite. With a quick wrench of it's neck, the alien dropped dead. With him dead, I picked back up my Assault Rifle and continued firing at the rest of the Covie forces.

"Area's clear," Miller sounded over the comm. I looked around and noticed that, yes, it was quite clear of any living hostiles. "Hmm," the Spartan handler continued, "it seems this base is still operational."

As he talked, I walked around to the back of the installation where the rest of the fireteam was. They were waiting patiently for the next orders.

"Can you put in the coordinates that Majestic provided?" asked Commander Palmer, her voice also coming out of the comm system. Fireteam Majestic had been sent on a similar mission as Crimson but at a different location. They had discovered that the Covie's rally points were actually transit stations.

"I just need Crimson to activate it. Marking terminals now," Miller replied. Sure enough, two waypoints appeared in my visor. A nod from Czymbor and we were all moving back up the ramps and to where we had made our stand. Brass casings and Covie corpses littered the ground, causing us to have to watch our step.

"Bale, get the other one," she ordered as she came up to one of the terminals. Bale nodded before jogging to the second terminal. Almost simultaneously, the two depressed the holographic button that appeared. The buttons disappeared and whirling of mechanics and anti-grav systems sounded.

"Commander! Something's happening!" Miller exclaimed as we watched multiple pieces of forerunner metal fly together to form a sort of circle.

"Use your words Miller," Palmer replied, causing me to chuckle under my breath.

"Crimson, that's a portal entrance set for the last coordinates. It's a slipspace rupture, just like the one Jul left in."

"Great," Palmer stated, "they have portals now. Get in there Crimson, we'll find you on the other side."

I sighed. Another crazy mission for Crimson team with no rest in between. While Majestic got the easy jobs aboard the Infinity, we were jumping through portals and getting shot at by Prometheans and Covies.

"Let's go Crimson," Czymbor said before walking to the man cannon and allowing herself to be launched into the swirling vortex of ripped space. One by one the others followed until it was just Bale and me. He turned to me and nodded his helmeted head before getting launched into the portal.

Again, I sighed before stepping up to the man cannon.

"Lyons! Watch out!" Miller cried just as a blast from a Promethean heavy weapon impacted the vortex structure. "It's destabilizing!" he cried out again. A blip appeared on my motion sensor suddenly. Quickly spinning around, I was met with a face full of Promethean as a Charger (a vaguely wolf-like machine) jumped at me.

It's impact caused me to stumble backwards into the man cannon. As we got pushed into the air, the machine snapped at my head. Using my Assault Rifle as a shield, I kept it's head away from me long enough for the two of us to enter the fluctuating portal.

Barely a second later, the two of us were falling again. I got a glimpse of a tiled roof and stone columns before my back it the floor, the Charger still on top of me. My brain registered some screaming and startled cries but that was pushed aside as the Charger reeled back it's head to try for another snap.

Bringing my knees up, I kicked against the machine's chest and sent it flying off of me. Scrambling to a kneeling position, I raised my Assault Rifle and fired. Two rounds came out before it stopped with a very audible **CLICK!**

"Son of a..." my curse stopped as I watched the Charger open it's mouth and saw the barrel of the built-in gun in it's mechanical mouth. A red laser came to rest on my chest. _Binary rifle! _My mind screamed as I tossed aside my empty rifle and brought up my left arm.

A simple neural command, transferred by the suit, caused a blue hardlight shield to pop up in front of me. Using my right hand, I drew my pistol from my thigh plate and waited. I didn't have to wait long as the Promethean's rifle suddenly discharged with a loud, electronic bang. The very powerful bolt of energy smacked into the blue shield. The shield turned orange, then red, and then dispersed completely in a couple seconds. The residual energy from the bolt caused my personal shields to flare but little more than that happened to me.

When the hardlight shield dispersed, however, I charged at the machine. Swinging my right leg back, I brought it forward and hit the Charger's head with enough force to fling it onto it's back. Bringing up my pistol, I aimed at the Promethean and fired repeatedly until the gun clicked dry and the slide locked itself back.

Breathing heavily, I ejected the clip and slid in a new one. Letting the slide snap forward, I approached the bullet ridden machine. When I got close enough, I delivered another kick to it's side.

"Mother fucker," I breathed. I clanking of metal on metal drew my attention to my surroundings. Looking up, I saw... ponies? Yes. Ponies surrounded me, staring at me in dumb shock. Most were dressed well, wearing fancy suits or dresses. The ones who weren't wore metal armor and wielded spears. _Guardsmen? _I mentally asked as I looked at them. When my gaze swept over them, the dressed ponies seemed to step back in horror while the guardsmen stepped forward with spears lowered.

I couldn't blame them. Being covered head to toe in power armor does make me look pretty imposing. The fact that I ruined their party with the fight probably didn't help much. Something caught my eye though. I settled my gaze on a two ponies (male and female judging by their clothing). One had a... horn while the other had... wings?

"Unicorns and Pegasi..." I mumbled, though knowing that my helmet probably made my voice loud enough for everyone in the quiet room to hear. A clearing of a throat sounded behind me. Turning around, I saw what looked like a white horse sitting on a golden throne. The horse's mane was moving without wind and it was colored the colors of a rainbow. A long horn came from it's head and I could see wings at it's side. "And something in between," I finished

The horse thing seemed to smile gently at me, "I am an Alicorn," it said in a very feminine voice.

"Oh, great," I said, motioning to the... Alicorn in exasperation, "it can talk." I looked up at the roof and laughed, "Great prank guys! Someone get me out of this damned simulation!"

After a couple moments without answer or waking up inside of a virtual reality pod, I looked back down at the Alicorn thingy to see it looking at me. The thing looked amused!

"This isn't a simulation is it?" I asked as the weight of the question fell on my head.

The Alicorn shook it's head, chuckling softly, "No. It is not."

I exhaled the breath I was unconsciously holding and nodded, "Yeah. Thought so," I whispered as I looked at the floor. The last words I heard from Miller came back into my mind.

"It destabilized," I concluded before looking around the room, "and dumped me here."

"Excuse me?" it asked. I didn't answer. Instead, I turned around to face the heap of scrap that used to be a Promethean machine.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed before punting the thing's head. The force of the kick snapped off the head and sent it sailing through the air and into a wall, cracking it. I saw the guards take a step forward before stopping. _Did it signal for them to stop. Is it their leader? It was wearing a crown, wasn't it?_

The thoughts dispersed as I thought of my team on Requiem, fighting who knows what. They would be worried about why I hadn't come through. I'm sure Miller won't even know where I landed. The guy was great but he wasn't all that competent. I felt the pistol slip from my hand and clatter against the floor. My legs gave out next, my knees crunching the tiles as they hit the floor.

As the tears began to come forth, I heard a soft whining. It was steadily getting louder. I listened before I found the source. Looking down at the wrecked Charger, I saw orange light spilling from the cracks and bullet holes. The intensity of the light matched the volume of the whine. As the whine got louder, the light got more intense. It took but a second for my mind to figure out what was happening. _It's overloading!_

I brought my arm up and tried to activate the shield. The blue shield came into existence before sputtering back out of existence.

"Shit!" I cursed before lowering my head and crossing my arms in front of my face. My mind then remembered that others were in the room.

"Everyone get down!" I shouted. There was screaming and scrambling. I knelt where I was, defiant. I could at least prevent harm to their leader. Not a second after that thought, the Charger exploded. The force of the blast caused my shields to burst before I was sent flying backwards. Time seemed to slow as I flew through the air. I heard the incessant beeping of my armor telling me my shields were down. I felt the pain of the shockwave course through me. I saw the fancy ponies scrambling for cover while the guards used their own bodies to shield them. Still, a few fell and I hoped that they were just minor wounds.

_How could I have been so stupid? They always explode!_ I chastised myself as I felt my back connect with something hard. My head followed closely behind. The hit sent me into the blissful blackness just as the screaming of wounded creatures caught up to my ears.

_**A/N: This is my new HiE. As you can tell, it does have a Spartan included. So why isn't it in the crossover section?**_

_**It **_**is ****_just one Spartan. That's why. Maybe as the story progresses I'll see the need to switch it to the crossover section. However, that won't be until I have more than just one aspect of Halo in Equestria._**

_**Anyways, please leave a review telling me what you think of it. It was just an idea that popped up after playing Halo 4 Spartan Ops and while writing for Salvation. Oh, Salvation fans, don't think the starting of this one is going to cause Salvation to be put on hold. That's too much work to not continue.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Coughing and the taste of copper. Those were the first two things I noticed when I regained consciousness. The third thing I noticed was that my eyes were closed. When I opened my eyes, though, the pain finally came and I clenched my eyes shut. I must have groaned or moved because I heard the clopping of hooves and someone say,

"I think he's awake."

_Hooves? _My eyes shot open again and I turned my head in the direction of the voice to see two ponies looking at me. One was a light purple with darker purple hair and a pink stripe while the other seemed more horse-like with a large horn and wings. _Alicorn. That's what it's called. _I remembered as I saw the flowing mane and tail.

I coughed again and felt something wet leave my mouth. I looked down at the interior of my helmet, which was lit by the lights from the HUD system. Speckled on the inside of the helmet in front of my mouth was what I knew was my blood.

"Not cool," I croaked as I started to push myself to a sitting position. A hoof appeared on my chest and gently applied pressure back towards the table. _When did I get on a table? _I asked myself as I looked around the room. It looked to be a medical ward, though with some archaic equipment. I looked back at the hoof and followed it to the Alicorn's face.

"You must lay back down," she said gently, "we have no idea of the extent of your words, I fear-"

"Ma'am, if I may," I croaked. She seemed perplexed. That perplexity gave me the time needed to key my suit's medical diagnostic program. What came back made me chuckle. Seeing the confused look on the Alicorn's face, I explained, "My suit can scan my body for wounds and the such. Says here I have a couple fractured ribs and some internal bleeding. Not too much of a problem."

"Not too much of a problem!" exclaimed the purple unicorn, stepping forward. I chuckled again before reaching down to my left thigh plate. Opening the trauma kit that rested there, I grabbed the small can of BioFoam and pulled it out.

"Nope. It ain't," I replied before taking the canister's nozzle and inserting it into the armor's port. I then grit my teeth as I had to push it deep enough to reach the ribs and source of bleeding. When it was deep enough, I depressed the lever and felt the cold foam be dispensed into my body. The anesthetics in the foam also numbed the pain. I felt myself sigh in relief as I pulled the nozzle out. I looked down at the, now empty, canister. Shaking it, I put my left hand under the nozzle and depressed the lever again. Only gas and some small bits came out.

"Let's just hope I'm not standing next to another Charger when it explodes," I remarked before tossing the canister and catching it in the same hand.

"What was that?" asked the Alicorn.

Still tossing and catching the canister, I answered: "BioFoam," I then chuckled softly, "Nothing like some foam to ensure you're going home."

My mood suddenly dropped as I remembered who said that. _Czymbor did. I wonder what my squad is facing without me. Do they think I'm dead?_

I looked from the canister that rested in my open hand to the two ponies that stood with somewhat worried looks at my change in demeanor.

"Are you alright?" asked the Alicorn.

"No," I replied, "I am not 'alright'. I am who knows how far from home in a land full of talking ponies! To make it worse, my squad, my... friends are probably fighting for their lives on that damned planet while I sit here, not able to do a goddamned thing to help them! So I am far from alright!" I stopped yelling to look again at the canister in my hand. My mind screamed that tossing it would help relieve my frustration but the rational part of me decided to just clench it until it started bending. Which, given my augmentations and the power from the suit, the canister began to do so rather quickly.

"I see."

"Do you?" I asked, looking at the crushed canister, "Have you ever seen an entire planet burnt to glass just because it was a human world? Have you ever held someone in your arms as they breathed their last breath, holding a letter they had recorded for their children?"

There was a moment of shocked silence before the Alicorn spoke again, "No, but I do know what it is like to be helpless." I looked up at that white, horse-like face, "I had watched my own sister succumb to darkness. I was unable to see it until she tried to keep the sun from rising. Unable to help my sister return, I had to banish her from the kingdom."

I took this information and processed it. This Alicorn has suffered loss, that much is certain. Loss equal to that of the majority of the Human race? Not by a long shot but loss is still loss. I nodded,

"I apologize for my outburst than," I said before swinging my legs off the table and standing on the opposite side from the two ponies. Once I was on two feet, I turned back around to face the two ponies. I noticed that I was about a foot and a half taller than the Alicorn with the unicorn being half the size of the Alicorn. Setting the canister on the table, I reached my hands up to my helmet. A neural command undid the seals before I lifted the Soldier variant helmet up and off my head. Once it was off, I blinked my eyes a couple times before setting it on the table.

Using my gloved hand, I tried to rub off any blood that was on my face before chuckling and lowering my hand. The two ponies seemed to examined my newly revealed face. They would see pale skin, that was normal for Spartans, hazel eyes and short cut brown hair.

"I feel rude for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Mack Lyons, Spartan of the UNSC," I stated with a nod of my head.

"And I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria," The Alicorn, Celestia, replied while returning my nod. I looked at the purple unicorn to find her staring at the helmet and canister. I saw Celestia look over as well and chuckle. This chuckle seemed to bring the unicorn back to reality as she blushed softly before looking at me.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student," she said before fidgeting on her hooves. Finally, she asked, "What's a Spartan?"

I smiled, "That is a long story."

"Oh," she replied before brightening up again, "what's the UNSC?"

"An even longer story."

"What isn't a long story?" she asked with mild exasperation. _Ah. A scholar, _I thought to myself with a chuckle.

"Me wondering where the rest of my gear is," I said with a joking hint to it. Celestia chuckled softly before looking at Twilight,

"Twilight, can you fetch the objects that this being brought into our world?"

The unicorn looked like she was going to argue before she nodded, muttered a "Yes Princess" and turned to leave the medical ward. When she exited the doors, I chuckled again before picking up my helmet and tilting it so I can look inside.

"Ugh. Blood in the helmet," I stated in exasperation. Something floated close to me with a yellowish glow. Dropping the helmet onto the table, I drew my knife from my belt and turned to face the incoming Watcher. When I turned, I noticed that it was not the floating Promethean machine that became the bane of UNSC ground troops. Instead, it was a wet cloth surrounded in a yellow light.

At least, it was surrounded in the light. When I drew my knife and turned, the light disappeared and the cloth fell to the ground.

"Oh my," I heard Celestia whisper. Looking at her, I saw that she had taken a step back and looked at me in shock.

"What happened?" I asked, knife still ready for a fight.

"I was simply offering a wet cloth so you could clean your helmet," she replied. I raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking at the cloth and back at her.

"You did that? How?" I asked. She now looked confused,

"I manipulated it with my magic, of course." I comprehended this. _These beings are magical? Where am I?_

"Of course," I replied sarcastically as I relaxed my stance somewhat.

"Does your species not possess magic?" she asked. I shook my head and lifted my left arm,

"However much all this looks like it, no. My species, nor any species I've met, possess magic," I stated as I finally sheathed my blade. I watched as a yellow glow came to her horn. I looked down at the cloth to see the same yellow glow surround it. The cloth then lifted up and hovered near my, now free, right hand. I grasped the cloth and glow disappeared. "Helpful talent."

"Indeed," she replied.

Turning my helmet over on the table, I began to scrub at the blood splotches. Some of it had time to dry so I knew it was going to take longer than I cared for.

"You looked... scared when you first saw the cloth," she asked, "may I ask why?"

I stopped scrubbing and looked at Celestia. I then chuckled, "You saw the thing that I had fought when I first arrived, correct?" A nod, "That was something called a Promethean. That was a Charger, the mainline fighters. They can go _anywhere_. On the floor, a wall, a roof, no problem. However, they aren't often alone. Usually accompanying them is a machine called a Watcher. It's this little machine with what appears to be two anti-grav propulsion devices that glow orange."

"Ah. That explains it than," came the reply.

I nodded as I rubbed vigorously at a very stubborn spot, "Yep. Then there's the Knights. Big, lumbering things that have big blades and, sometimes, big guns. Add some Covenant die-hards and a ton of UNSC Marines and Spartans on a single world and you got one hell of a battleground."

I removed the cloth and examined the interior of my helmet. Satisfied, I set the cloth down before setting the helmet onto the table right side up with the red, Solar visor facing me. The gray primary color of the helmet complemented the red secondary color nicely in my opinion.

"The Covenant?" asked Celestia just as Twilight entered the medical ward with stuff hovering around her. I noticed the purple glow on her horn and around the items. Hovering around her were my two guns (surprisingly intact), the Charger's head, and the pistol's empty clip. When she got to the table, she set the stuff down onto it. Grabbing my pistol, I let it magnetize against my right thigh plate before picking up the Assault Rifle and looking it over.

"The Covenant. A collection of alien races that were hell bent on exterminating my species. Led to a war that spanned multiple generations. I, for example, had one great-grandparent and two grandparents who had fought the Covenant. They almost succeeded too. Exterminating my species, that is. Got to our homeworld and everything. That's when their primary infantry force rebelled, splitting the Covenant and joining our side," I explained. While I talked, I had figured that the rifle was jammed and had yanked back the charging handle after ejecting the magazine. Looking into the chamber, I noticed that the round was stuck. Failure to eject.

"Always something," I muttered before tossing the rifle onto the table.

"You talk about it so casually," Twilight stated with disbelief. I chuckled and picked up the Charger's head, looking it over. I shook it like it were a Christmas present before holding it in front of me.

"Well. The tides had turned during their invasion. Suddenly, they were the ones running and we were the ones chasing," I replied, glancing at her before looking back at the Charger's head, "You are going to make a great wall decoration," I stated with a nod. I then looked around, "Just need a wall to put it on."

I heard giggling and looked back to see Celestia giggling while Twilight looked at me with confusion. The door swung open again. Looking at it, I saw a yellow pegasus with long, pink hair enter the room. She was looking straight at the floor.

"Twilight," she uttered in what was barely above a whisper, "I know you said not to intrude but the girls and me were wondering when you would be coming back out."

I saw Twilight smile, "In a minute, Fluttershy. Right now, I am talking to Mister Lyons here."

The pegasus looked up in surprise. When her one visible eye came upon me, I watched as the pupil became a pinprick of fear. With a very audible squeak and visible shaking, the pegasus nodded.

"A-a-alright, Twil-light," she said before disappearing from the room fast enough that she left an afterimage. I looked at Celestia to see her kind smile before looking at Twilight who was shaking her head. She looked up at me,

"I'm sorry about that. Fluttershy is very, well, shy," she explained.

I shrugged, "No worries. Tall, armored, unfamiliar being? Yeah, I'd be scared too if I didn't know any better."

She nodded, "Yes, that does mak-"

"_Grrgwble!"_

"What was that?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"I think that was Mister Lyons' stomach," Celestia answered, giggling again.

I nodded, chuckling, "That it was Princess."

"Oh," Twilight began, "well, I'm sure my friend Applejack still has some Apple Fritters or some Apple Juice. She might even have a pie left too."

"Let me guess. Apple pie?" I asked.

She looked at me in mild surprise, "Yes. How'd you-?"

"Call it a hunch."

_**A/N: Here's Chapter Two! Next comes the (proper) meeting with Twilight's friends. Just for time reference, the fight took place during the Grand Galloping Gala (not the one where the Mane Six screwed up EVERYTHING! But one after it) and this is all taking place far after everypony else had left.**_

_**Hope you're enjoying it so far. Please leave a review informing me of you're opinions.**_

_**By the way. Anyone know when the new episode is coming out? All these reruns are driving me crazy.**_


	3. Chapter 3

I was now following Twilight down twisting, decorative halls. The only thing I had grabbed was my Assault Rifle and my helmet. The rifle was magnetized to my back while I had the helmet tucked under my left arm.

I examined the halls as I walked. They seemed to be made of some sort of stone, same with the tiles. The tiles, however, had been polished to the point where I could almost see myself in them. The hulking gray and red mass I saw made me chuckle under my breath.

Paintings hung from the walls depicted numerous scenes of different ponies. Most contained Princess Celestia and in some of those, she was accompanied by...

"Twilight. Who's that?" I asked as I stopped at a picture and pointed to a dark, almost black Alicorn that stood by Celestia. On her flank, she had a splotch of blue with a crescent moon imposed on it. Her mane, which looked to be flowing like Celestia's, seemed to be a field of stars in the night sky.

"That's Princess Luna, ruler of the moon and the night," Twilight answered as she came up next to me to look at the picture. "She is Celestia's sister."

I recoiled at that, blinking rapidly. _So this is the sister that turned evil, _I thought to myself. _Wait, something isn't right here._

"This picture looks recent. I mean, you're in it," I pointed her out, "I thought she was banished or something."

I heard Twilight chuckle, "You are correct, this picture is recent. See, last year (and a couple months), Princess Luna had come back to Equestria as Nightmare Moon. I was new to Ponyville then and didn't have any ponies that I considered to be my friends. Some of the ponies in town, though, considered me to be _their _friend. With a powerful magic called the Elements of Harmony, we were able to defeat the evil called Nightmare Moon. When the evil receded, we found Luna back to her normal self."

"Ah," I replied, not fully understanding. I understood enough, though, to realize that this unicorn and her friends were guardians to this land. Silently, I turned and continued to follow the unicorn down the halls. Besides the clopping of her hooves and the thudding of my boots, it was quiet. I remembered the other times on Requiem that it was this quiet. _There's no Watchers here, though._

That was true. From their reactions, there were no such thing as the Prometheans here. There were no Covenant or UNSC. No threat of extinction looming over everything. A world of peace for a being forged for war.

"Here we are," Twilight informed me, startling me from my thoughts. I looked at her to see her standing in front of a big door. Behind the door I could hear some talking and laughing. _What will their reaction be? _I wondered to myself as I nodded to Twilight. She pushed open one of the doors and stepped through. There were excited greetings and more laughing.

Following Twilight through the door, the laughing stopped. I looked around to recognize it as the Hall where I had fought the Charger. In the center of the room, I could see the scorched tiles. I found no blood on the floor anywhere in the Hall which said that either no one was hurt or that the ponies were quick cleaners. I also spotted a column to the right of the throne that was missing it's top half. _Must have been what I hit._

Finally, my gaze came upon a table that still held ponies. One had a light blue coat and rainbow mane (that didn't flow by itself), another had an orange coat with a cowboy hat and a blonde mane, there was one that was pink with a pink, poofy mane, the next had a white coat with a purple, overly styled mane, and the last was the shy pegasus that had come into the medical room. Standing on top of the table, I saw a small being (maybe about a foot or two in height) with scales and reptilian eyes. I felt a shiver go down my spine when I saw those eyes.

"Twilight," spoke the blue coat one, "what is that following you?"

"_He_ is a Spartan, Rainbow Dash," Twilight answered as she continued to walk to the table that held her friends. I followed but laughed at Twilight's answer.

"Actually, Miss Twilight, my species is human. My job title is Spartan," I then put my right hand to my chin as my thoughts carried off somewhere else, "However, most humans don't see us Spartans as being human anymore."

I shrugged off that line of thought to look at the ponies in front of me. I smiled at them, "Anyway. Name's Mack Lyons."

There was a moment of silence before Twilight cleared her throat.

"Well," I looked at the speaker to see the white unicorn. When I looked at her, she kind of stumbled on her words but quickly recovered, "Since the others are so rude," she shot a heated look at the other ponies before looking at me, "I am Rarity, darling. May I say that, that ensemble you're wearing is oh so brutish. You must allow me to try my hooves at something else for you to wear."

I raised an eyebrow at her before looking down at my armor. It was scuffed and dented in some places. The red of the armor, I was sure, hid some old blood stains. I looked back up at the pony identified as Rarity and shrugged my shoulders, "It's not supposed to look nice, ma'am."

Rarity scoffed, so I added: "Though I would like to see what you'd make for me."

Rarity smiled as the blue pegasus took to a hover above the table.

"I'm Rainbow Dash. The fastest flier in all of Equestria," she stated pridefully. I smiled at her antics. It reminded me of Fireteam Majestic. A pang of homesickness came to me but I beat it back as I nodded to the blue pegasus. The orange pony next to her tipped her hat my way,

"Ah'm Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres over in Ponyville."

I was about to nod to her before something pink appeared in front of me. My hand was on my pistol by the time I saw the horse-like face and the large eyes.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Why do you look scared? I hope I didn't scare you! Did I scare you?" she spoke a mile a minute. When she stopped, she stood in front of me, bouncing gently as she waited for my answer. I looked around at the others to see them looking at me with smiles.

"You did. Please don't do that anymore," I replied. I noticed that the pink pony's poofy mane became less poofy when I said that. _A tell of her mood perhaps? _I thought. "However, it's nice meeting you Pinkie Pie."

Her mane poofed up again as she hugged me as best she could.

"We'll be the best of friends!" she exclaimed before retreating to her seat. I looked at the last pony at the table to see the yellow pegasus shy behind her pink mane. I nodded gently to her,

"Miss Fluttershy, I believe we've already met," I said. She nodded meekly with an "eep".

"And I'm Spike!" I looked at the speaker to see that it was the purple, scaly thing I had seen before. He blinked his eyes and I noticed that while they looked reptilian, they only had one set of eyelids. _Interesting._

"Nice to meet you Spike," I replied. My stomach decided that, that would be the best time to growl loudly. I heard the girls giggle and smiled myself.

"Sorry, haven't eaten since..." I paused, "I can't even remember the last time I've eaten."

"Well, we can't be having that," Applejack said as she stood and walked to a packed wagon near the table. When the orange pony reached the wagon, she turned and bucked it. Miraculously, the wagon popped open to display food on it's shelves. I watched as Applejack grabbed an apple and tossed it to me. I caught it and looked at it with hungry eyes before I remembered something,

"I have nothing to pay you with, ma'am."

"That one's on the house," Applejack replied with a wink before closing the wagon and walking back to her seat.

"That's mighty kind of you, ma'am," I responded before taking a bite out of the apple. There was an explosion of flavor that I had never tasted before. I heard giggling so I opened my eyes and looked at the table.

"Have you never had an apple before?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I nodded, "I have but that was before the..." I paused as my mind raced back to my childhood. I had been born on Reach, a fortress planet for the UNSC. We were safe and happy, going on with our lives as if there was no war. Then, one day, the sirens went off and explosions dotted the sky. Gunfire could be heard in the city and my mom was rushing me to pack a bag of clothes.

"Before the what, dear?" I heard Rarity ask. I shook my head to clear my thoughts before I looked at the apple like it was at fault as the memories still raced through my mind.

"I don't want to talk about."

And with that, I took another bite of the apple. I noticed that most of the flavor was gone, as if my mood was blocking it out.

"Well, Mister Lyons," Twilight began carefully, "my friends and I were just about to catch the train back to Ponyville as the Princess said that you would stay with us until you've grown acquainted to this world."

I nodded, "Alright."

I stood there, silently eating the apple as Twilight called for her friends to follow her to the train. Taking up position behind them, I tossed the apple into a waste basket. Holding the helmet in both hands, I slammed it onto my head and sealed it. With my face hidden, I let my mind wander to the past. I allowed myself to see the people I've lost and the horrors I've faced.

As we navigated the winding streets, the memories continued to flash by as rapidly as they could be seen. I saw my first kill, my first brush with death, the Flood infection on Earth, a Needler spike blowing open a man's stomach. I only vaguely noticed the train as I followed the ponies aboard and took a seat away from them. The seats were small so I took up two but I found that there was enough headroom for me when I sat down. I still bent over though, resting my elbows on my knees as my mind finally came to Fireteam Crimson.

_My team, _my mind added as I saw their faces, _I wonder what they're doing now. What are they facing without me?_

"What'cha thinking about sugarcube?"

I looked up to see that the orange pony, Applejack, had taken a seat across from me. She had a look of concern etched on her face as she studied my helmet.

"How do you know I'm thinking?" I asked. She looked surprised by this question.

"Well," she began after she recovered, "you have your helmet on, for one. For two, ya haven't talked since we left the castle and ya haven't moved since we've boarded the train."

Breaking the seals, I took off my helmet and held it in both hands as I looked at Applejack. Seeing my face, she began to look more worried.

"What's wrong sugarcube?"

"I'm alive. That's what's wrong."

A look of shock came across her features and it took her a full minute before she was able to speak again, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," I began with a slightly raised voice, "that I'm stuck here in a world of talking ponies that look to have never seen war while my squad, my friends, are back on that hellish planet fighting against who knows what!" I took a deep breath as I looked at the night sky, trying my best to look across the expanse and find Requiem.

"What are they like?" Applejack asked. I looked over at her,

"Who?"

"Your friends. What are they like?" she clarified.

I looked at my helmet, rolling it in my hands, "Well, there's Czymbor, our leader. She's courageous, strong, and always knows just what to say to make us feel better. Then there's Bale, always ready with some witty remark. A damn good card player too. Next is Logan. He's this big, burly man with arms the size of my thighs. Anything that was big and made a boom, he would carry. He was the strong, silent type though. Finally, there's Jessica. A quiet girl that we ended up nicknamed 'Shadow' because sometimes you'd forget she was there. Carried a gun almost the same size as her but she wielded it like a pro," I chuckled, "The others always made stupid comments about how I was the only one she would say more than two words to."

I stopped as I looked around, noticing that the others had gathered around. _When had they moved? _I thought to myself.

"Sounds like she had a bit of a crush, darling," Rarity said with a knowing smile.

I smirked at that and nodded, "Probably. Maybe if things were different we could've... I don't know."

"What do ya mean 'if things were different'? Was she with some pony else?" Applejack asked. I noticed her terminology. _'Some pony'. That must be the same as someone._

I shook my head, "No, I don't think so. It's just," I tapped my helmet with an armored knuckle, "we were soldiers in a never ending war. The only way we could have been anything more was if we had left the service and Spartans don't just leave. Only way Spartans have gotten out is to be horribly wounded or... killed."

A gasp went through the train car. "That sounds harsh," Rainbow Dash stated.

I shook my head with a chuckle, "Not really. Not if you think of it from their point of view. They spent a couple billion credits on this armor," I tapped the helmet again, "alone. Then they spent another million or so credits to inject us with a mixture of drugs to change us from average humans to Spartans. Faster reflexes, muscle mass increase, stronger bones, faster brain processing, everything needed to survive in battle. However, I knew all of this when I volunteered."

"Why would you volunteer for something like that?" I heard Twilight ask.

I didn't answer immediately. Instead, my hand made it's way to one of my armor's compartments. Opening it, I reached in and pulled out a wrinkled and partially burnt picture. It was an actual picture on paper, not a stillshot that seemed to have taken over paper photographs. My parents were old fashioned in that way.

In the picture was a little boy of about twelve with brown hair and hazel eyes. A large smile matched the smile of the woman holding his hand. She had long brown hair that had reached down to the middle of her back and bright green eyes. A very pretty woman to be sure. In the background were carnival rides of all kinds. Behind the rides were the trees of Reach, standing proud on it's surface.

I smiled at the picture,

"Because being a Spartan allowed me to avenge what I have lost."

_**A/N: Here's Chapter Three y'all. Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday but I came down with some nasty bug. I was basically immobilized by a mixture of it and the medicine I had taken for it.**_

_**Thanks to bronygamer96 for pointing out the enormous amount of mistakes in the last chapter. I hope I didn't make too many in this one. If I did, just point it out and I'll hunt it down.**_

_**As always, please leave a review informing me of any comments or concerns you may have.**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Is that your mom?" asked one of the ponies around me. The voice was quiet so I couldn't really tell who it was.

"Yeah," I replied as I nodded, that sad smile still on my face. I ran a finger alongside her hair, as if trying to feel it through the photograph.

"What... what happened to her?"

"The invasion happened."

* * *

"Hurry Mack!" I heard my mother call from the apartment's living room. I obliged, blindly tossing clothes into my backpack like she said. _'Clothes. Only clothes, Mack.' That's what she said. _I heard the incessant sound of sirens from outside. The booms of explosions interrupted that dull wailing every so often. A glance outside and I could see Pelicans and some purple craft flying around outside.

I paused in my packing when my eyes fell on a framed picture that sat on my dresser. It was from a year ago during one of the carnivals that they hold outside of the city. I reached for it but hesitated. _Only clothes. Nothing else. But... this is so small. Surely she wouldn't mind?_

Having made up my mind, I grabbed the frame and flipped it over. Prying off the back, I pulled out the picture. I gave it one brief look before stuffing it into my backpack and closing it. Putting on the bag, I turned and walked out into the living room to see my mom standing at the window, looking out. I saw that she wore her camping pants (a pair of dad's military pants), a gray tank top, and her hiking boots. What mostly drew my attention, though was the fear on her face and the gun in her right hand.

"Mom? What's happening?" I asked, looking from the gun to the window to her face. She turned to me and I saw her fear mostly disappear as she gave me a warm smile. She walked over to me and knelt in front of me, using her free hand to fix a strand of my hair.

"Nothing sweetie. Just..." she paused, as if debating on whether or not to say something. Finally, "some bad people are here so you and me are going to go somewhere safe."

"Will dad be there?"

A sad smile, "No. No, dad won't be there. Soldiers like him will be there though. They'll keep us safe."

She stood up and glanced out the window before looking at the gun she held. Lifting it up, she used her left hand to pull the slide back a little to see look into the gun. Satisfied, she flicked something on the side of the gun before motioning me to follow her.

I nodded, following her as she moved to the door and slowly opened it. She stepped out with gun raised and I saw her eyes darting as she checked both directions of the hallway before walking fully out of the door.

"Come on, sweetie. It isn't too far."

I stepped out and looked down the hallway. I spotted some of the other people on our floor also leaving their apartments with bags and heading for the elevators. Feeling a tug on my bag, I looked back to see that my mom was motioning me to the elevators to the left of our apartment. I could hear a voice over the building's speaker system.

"_Please stay calm. All residents are advised to head to floor seventy-two for evacuation. Please stay calm. All residents are advised to head to floor seventy-two for evacuation."_

The voice repeated over and over again. Unhindered by the dull voice, I followed my mom to the elevators and the packed people there. They were loud with concerns,

"Where's the elevator?"

"What's going on?"

"The Covenant? They were supposed to be far away from here!"

Through it all, my mom was there next to me, standing silently as she watched the floor display with fiery intensity.

After what felt like forever, the elevator doors opened with a ding. Standing in the elevator was a Marine in full gear with rifle held in both hands.

"Hurry up and get on!" he shouted, "Boat leaves in thirty minutes!"

A panicked frenzy swept through the crowd as they pushed and shoved to get aboard the elevator. It was all pointless, the pushing and the shoving. The elevator was of such size that all could squeeze into it. _Who is attacking us here? _I thought as I looked at the Marine. Somehow, I ended up next to him in the elevator. I saw him look at the pistol in my mom's hand before looking at her. He nodded and, turning my head to look at my mom, I saw her nod back. _Did a conversation occur that I'm not privy to?_

After a couple of minutes in what had quickly become a sweat box, a ding sounded and the doors slid open. For me, it was as if the gates of hell had been opened. All I could hear was gunfire, screaming, and the roar of engines.

"De-ass now!" shouted the Marine in the elevator, "Run straight ahead and don't stop for anything until you reach the dropship!" A pause. Nobody moved. "Move! Now!"

One by one, I watched the people as they now ran off the elevator and into the madness that ensued. Quickly, the elevator car emptied as more and more people exited. I felt a hand squeeze my forearm. I looked at the hand and followed it up to my mother's face. It seemed to be set in stone as she stared out of the elevator.

She had no need for words though. The squeezing of my arm said it all. _"Stay close."_

I looked back at the people and noticed... it was our turn. A subtle push from my mom and I was off, pumping my legs and running after the retreating backs of the people in front of me.

I allowed myself to examine the area around me. Floor seventy-two was one of the recreational floors. Plants grew in boxes under artificial sunlight. Fountains of cool water were placed around the floor. Benches sat at strategic locations to allow a person to relax in the presence of nature, however artificial it may be.

Now, it was a place of chaos. Marines traded fire with strange alien beings whose weapons fired light. The yelling of orders and the screams of the injured pierced the sound of gunfire and, behind it all, the roaring of a Pelican's engines sounded like the bass of a terrible song.

I looked forward to see one of the balls of light impact the man in front of me. He screamed out in pain as he dropped to the floor, his shirt and back burnt. I wanted to stop, I wanted to turn and go back but the words of the Marine echoed in my mind. Turning, I spared a glance over my shoulder to see that my mom was still close behind. With her presence and the words of the Marine, I pushed forward, pumping my legs harder.

The world blurred as I ran faster than I ever did before. All I saw was the path in front of me. I was only vaguely aware that a couple more of the people in front of me fell to the ground. I ran around them. Before long, I spied the doors leading out to the pad and the hulking Pelican that sat waiting. A Marine sat at the door, beckoning us on.

Before I knew it, I was there, running aboard the dropship. I turned around to greet my mom. When I turned, I saw that she wasn't right behind me like I thought. No, she was still a ways away from the Pelican and... _Limping? She's hurt!_

I could see the dark stain growing larger on her left pants leg, the red hand clenching the thigh and knew that she'd been hit by one of the bolts of light. She was so close! Just a little bit to go and she'd be on board!

A purple lance of light suddenly erupted from her chest and time seemed to slow down. I watched as blood began to flow from the wound and as my mom looked down at it with a look of shock. Color began to drain as she looked back up. Our eyes locked for a second and so many words passed between us. So many unspoken words. Then, she just dropped forward, onto the floor.

"Shit! Get us out of here! Civvies are on board!" I heard the Marine shouting as time sped up again.

"No!" I screamed, reeling on the Marine, "My mom! She's still alive!"

"She's dead kid! Did you not see it go through her heart?" he asked bluntly.

I shook my head, "No! She's alive! I gotta help her! I-"

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me as I tried to leave the Pelican. It was already starting to lift off as I did.

"Let me go! She's alive!" I yelled as I struggled against his hold, "Mom! No!"

The owner of the arms, the Marine, was unresponsive besides a tightening of his arms. I continued to yell and thrash until the building was out of my sight. Then, slowly, the realization came to me and I began to calm down. By the time the ramp was closed, I was fully calm and the Marine released me. Now able to move again, I shuffled to an empty seat, took my pack off, and sat down. Setting the bag in front of me, I opened it slightly and retrieved the picture that I had placed in there.

I traced the figure of my mom with my left hand. A tear dropped onto the picture. The one was followed by more until it became a waterfall of sadness escaping me.

* * *

I heard sniffling and looked up to see that the ponies around me, and Spike, were all looking at me with sorrowful faces and balling openly. The one who was crying the most dramatically was Rarity, with a hoof to her forehead and her head thrown back.

"T-that's terrible!" Fluttershy was the one who said this. This surprised me as I this was the first time she had spoken to me. "You poor thing!" she exclaimed before throwing herself against me in a hug that would have been crushing if I was not in my armor. One by one, the others joined in until all of them had at least one legs around me in a hug.

The sudden act of sympathy brought a tear from my already misty eyes. I found myself trying to hug them all back as best I could. Here I was, a being of unknown origins and yet, already they treated me like a dear friend. I looked at the picture that I still held in my left hand and gave a sad smile.

_I won't betray this friendship, Mom._

_**A/N: Blah... Stupid work and school, taking away from writing time. Technically, I got this out on time (being about thirty minutes from midnight still).**_

_**Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this (hopefully not many mistakes). As always, please leave a review telling me what you think of it so far.**_


	5. Chapter 5

The hug continued for what felt like half a hour before I cleared my throat. The ponies looked at me and slowly backed away, all of them with a soft blush. I found this both confusing and amusing. Shrugging it off, I gave the picture one last look before putting it back in the armor's compartment and sealing it.

"So," I began, looking at the ponies still gathered around me, "where exactly are we going?"

"We're going to Ponyville, a small town south of Canterlot," Twilight answered.

I nodded my head, "Alright. You also said something about staying with y'all 'til I grow... acquainted, I think is the word you used, with this world. Correct?"

"Correct," Twilight answered again but with a closed-eyed nod. I could see the gears turning in her head as she opened her eyes and looked at her friends, "Hmm. Though I don't know exactly where you'll be staying."

"He can stay with me," I look at the orange pony, Applejack, "We can make room for him in the barn."

"Wait a second now," I start, holding up a hand, "If you don't have room, be out and clear with it. I don't mind sleeping Outside on the ground. Wouldn't be the first time."

"Nonsense. Ain't no pony sleeping outside if I have any say in it," she replies.

I lower my hand and give a small shrug, "Alright. As long as I won't be a nuisance."

"Ya won't," she answers strongly.

"Then it's settled," Twilight announced, "Mack will stay with Applejack until he can get acquainted with our world."

As if on cue, the squealing of train brakes could be heard. The ponies began to move to the door. Standing, I followed them and waited until the train fully came to a stop. When it did, Twilight slid the door open, allowing us to file out onto the wooden platform and into the night.

"The night is oh so dreadful!" Rarity complained as her horn lit up blue, creating a spark to illuminate her surroundings. A purple light joined the blue one. I looked and saw that Twilight had also lit up her horn. _Interesting._

"I like the night, actually," I state. I don't really know why I said it but I just felt like I had to. It was like I knew someone _else_ was listening.

"Why ever would you like the night? It's so cold and dark!" Rarity argued. _Is she always this dramatic? _I mentally ask myself as I watch her visibly shiver.

"I feel... safer in the dark," I shrug. The ponies are looking at me weirdly now. I shrug again.

"I see," Rarity finally says, "Well, goodnight to all of you."

With that, she trots off of the platform. The other mares each say their own goodbyes until it's just Applejack and me. I look down at her.

"Was it something I said?" I ask her.

"Ah think it was the word 'safer', sugarcube," she replies as she starts to walk off the platform. I follow behind as she continues talking, "We most always feel safe, no matter the time of day."

"I... see," I reply. I really didn't but I thought I'd play along. I hear a scuffling noise and look to see Applejack recovering from tripping over a rock. We were well away from the platform lights now and, while the moon was shining big and bright, it was nowhere near bright enough to fully see where you were going.

Lifting my helmet up, I slid it onto my head and sealed it. After the HUD initialization, I neurally commed on my suit's flashlight. Four LED bulbs, two on either side of the helmet, suddenly lit up to illuminate the path ahead as bright as day.

"What the hay?" I hear Applejack say. I look towards her but not directly at her.

"Is that your helmet?" she asks.

"Yep. Flashlights. They use my suit's power to project front-facing light," I explain, looking around to show what I meant.

"That's mighty useful," she replies. Looking ahead, I light up the path enough so that Applejack continues walking. I follow again, being careful not to move the light too much as I take in my surroundings.

The town looked like it had been pulled straight from a book about the Medieval Ages. Wooden framed houses with straw roofs. An open air marketplace, wagons. It was mind-boggling how a group living like this had access to trains. _Then again, they do have their high-rise cities. Don't they? _I ask inwardly as I vaguely remember seeing multi-story constructs back in Canterlot.

It wasn't long before Applejack turned us onto a dirt trail that led into an orchard. Removing the light from the trail for a second, I study the trees to confirm my suspicions. They were, in fact, apple trees. Putting the light back on the trail, I laugh in my head.

As we walk along, I see a red barn come into view. It had windows on the second floor that looked to be more than decoration. _They literally live in a barn, _I think with an inward chuckle.

"Please turn off you're light... thing."

I do as she says and turn off the flashlights. Now back in the dark, we continue walking to the barn, house, whatever. Entering through the doors, we come into a living room with couch and fireplace. There are also pictures on the wall and a rug on the floor. I can see all this because I had switched my helmet's visor imaging to night vision. So, through grainy green vision, I examine the house.

Applejack turns and goes up stairs to our immediate right. I follow, looking at the pictures lining the staircase. I couldn't see detail but I knew they were pictures. When we got to the top of the stairs, she turned left and then right to go down a hallway. I follow her, looking in the first open door to see a bed and a _large_ pony laying in it. I can also hear his snoring as he wanders dream land.

"The others are all asleep," Applejack whispers as she leads me to a closed door. Opening it, she explains, "This is the guest room. There's a bed, a dresser, and everything else ya might need. I'm gonna hit the straw so, goodnight Mack."

"Night," I whisper back before she turns, goes to another door, and heads inside. I turn back to the now open door. Walking through, having to crouch and turn my body slightly, I look around. There's a bed, which looks to be too small for me. Beside the bed is a nightstand with a candle. Across from the bed is a dresser, like she said. Not much else is in the room, which is completely fine by me.

I look at the bed and shake my head before moving to the empty corner of the room. Taking off my rifle, I set it against the wall, making sure the safety is on. Then, slowly, I sat down and leaned back into the corner. Resting my head against the wall, I turned off the night vision and looked out at the suddenly blackened room.

Tiredness begins to seep into my eyes as I sit there, staring across the room at the bed. Closing my eyes, I let the darkness of sleep whisk me away.

* * *

I open my eyes to find that I'm in a clearing in a forest. Looking around, I notice one big thing, I am a lot smaller now. I watch as my mother steps forward from the bushes with a smile on her face.

"There you are!" she says playfully as she tackles me and begins tickling me. I feel myself laugh but I also feel another part of me realizing this as the camping trip when I was five. I remember running away from our little camp and into the woods.

"Mommy, stop!" I cry out through my laugh fits. She stops tickling me, her own melodic laughter filling the air. When she stops laughing, she picks me up in her arms, bringing up to face level with her.

"So, my little adventurer. Let's head back now, hmm?" she asks. As soon as she's done talking, her eyes become all white.

'_Who are you?' _I hear. I look around but no one else was in the clearing and my mom's mouth had not moved. Looking back at my mom, I noticed that her eyes are back to the vibrant hazel color they always were. She's already walking back through the forest, as if nothing happened.

Suddenly, the scene changes. Looking around, I notice that it's my ninth birthday. My mom is near me, smiling wide like she always did. She was such a joyful woman, even when times were hard.

"Happy ninth birthday Mack!" she cries as she puts a small cake onto the table. Again, her eyes turn all white.

_'Mack. What an interesting name.'_ I hear.

_Who are you? _I inwardly ask. There's no reply. Instead the scene changes again. Now I'm at a spaceport, my mom at my side. In front of me in a green uniform is a man with brown hair and matching brown eyes. He's smiling at me.

"I'll miss you kiddo," he says before he stands. I don't get to see much more as the scene changes. I'm looking through a cracked door to out apartment's living room. On the couch, I see my mom with a letter in one hand. Her other hand is to her mouth as she cries silently.

I open the door more and step outside.

"Mom?" I ask, walking up to her, "What's wrong?"

She looks surprised to see me still awake as it's late.

"Nothing sweetie, just," she chokes out before picking me up and setting me on the couch, looking me in the eyes, "d-daddy won't... won't be coming home when we thought."

"Why?" I ask.

"He's..." she pauses, "He's had to stay longer. T-to fight the bad guys."

I know now that it was a lie. My dad had died fighting the Covenant. One of millions to have met their fate at the hands of the alien bastards.

_'Such hate can only come...'_

The scene of my mom's death flashes briefly by, leaving blackness.

_'...from such loss.'_

_Who are you? _I scream in my head, _What do you want?_

Again, there is no answer. Instead, the blackness becomes blurry vision. Cryo-tube. I can feel the anti-freeze goop in my throat and lungs. With a hiss, the doors open and I stumble out, coughing the goop onto the metal grating.

"Hurry up! Five mikes to rally!" I hear someone shouting. Cryo training. I remember now, back on Earth. I always hated the blasted goop.

_'Are you so conditioned to war?'_

_Shut up!_

The scene changes to black. I can hear a loud tapping now, constant in it's rhythm.

The blackness becomes another memory. Red lighting illuminates the back of a pelican. I look around to see the familiar dark gray and red armor color patterns. The tapping is still present as I look around at my team. They were each going through weapons checks.

_'So much chaos lies in your dimension. Yet so little lies inside you. This is intriguing.'_

_Would you get out of my head! _Tap, tap, tap, _And what is with the tapping?_

_'Awaken and find out.'_

_**A/N: YAY! I updated both this and Salvation in one day!**_

_**Anyway, I hope all of you are enjoying this so far. As always, please leave a review telling me what you think of it so far.**_


	6. Chapter 6

I open my eyes to see my crotch and the floor underneath me. The tapping is still happening. Now I can tell that it's from someone tapping on my helmet.

"Please stop," I mutter. Girlish screams and the quick clopping of hooves fill my ears. _Hooves? _I ask inwardly. Then the memory of the past day rush into my mind and I sigh. _Right. Hooves._

"D-did it j-j-just talk?" I hear someone stutter. I look up (this movement accompanied by more screams and scrambling) to see three, very scared and very small ponies standing before me. One had an orange coat with a short cut purple mane. Another had a white coat with a light purple and pink mane in a very fanciful design. The third had a yellow coat with a red mane and pinkish bow in her mane. The orange one was a pegasus, the white one a unicorn, and the yellow one a normal pony.

"Yes. 'It' just talked," I reply. I lift my hands up to my head to hear them yelp and back away some more, "I won't hurt you, I promise you that."

Releasing the seals, I grab my helmet and lift it from my head. Setting it in my lap, I blink away the HUD's afterimage before smiling gently at the small ponies.

"That's a helmet?" asked the orange one.

I laugh and nod, "It is. You didn't think that was my actual face did you?"

I watch as the yellow one rubs the back of her neck, "Well, actually..."

"We did," finishes the white one.

"Ah, well," I turn my helmet in my hands and look at the front of it, "I can see why you were frightened," I look back at them with that gentle smile still on my face, "I'm Mack Lyons, by the way."

My view was suddenly filled with two green eyes, "I'm Sweetie Belle!"

The little pony then stepped back to her friends and I noticed that it was the white one that had done this. The pony wrapped one foreleg around the orange coated one,

"This is Scootaloo!" the other foreleg went around the yellow one, "And this is Apple Bloom! And we're..."

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" They all shout simultaneously, large smiles on their faces after trying to blow out my ear drums. Rubbing one ear with an armored finger, I smile back at them,

"And what is it that you do?" I ask, hoping to not regret the question.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders is a club dedicated to helping ponies find their cutie marks!" The orange one, Scootaloo, explains excitedly.

"Ah," I reply before asking, "What's a cutie mark?"

"You don't know what a cutie mark is?" this question came from the white one, Sweetie Belle. They all look at me like I'm insane. I chuckle, _Kids. They're the same everywhere._

I motion to myself, "I don't know how your eyesight is but I'm not a pony."

They all look embarrassed as Sweetie Belle mutters, "Oh. Right."

It was the yellow one, Apple Bloom, who recovers first, "A cutie mark is a picture on a pony's flank," she points to her flank and I find myself raising an eyebrow, "that represents her, or his, special talent."

I noticed her wording. _"-her, or his,-" Can this denote to there being more females than males here? Sure makes sense since all I've seen are females thus far._

"And that's discovered when a pony is young?" I ask. The three ponies instantly look shy as they look at the ground. _What did I say now?_

"Well," starts Sweetie Belle, looking to be on the verge of tears, "we should have gotten ours by now."

"Oh," I reply, now rubbing the back of _my_ neck, "I see. Well," I clap my hands together, startling them slightly, "I'm sure you'll get them at some point. Just gotta keep trying, right?"

"Right!" All three of them reply with smiles. I found it amazing how fast they could go from one emotion to another.

"What is all that racket?" I hear Applejack ask as she comes storming into the room. She looks from the three foals to me.

"Morning to ya Mack," she starts. I nod to her and watch as she turns on the three foals, "Why are y'all bothering him?"

"Well," Apple Bloom starts. _Applejack... Apple Bloom. Siblings? _"we were going to come in here to plan some cool new ideas and we noticed mister, er, Mack sleeping."

"Yeah," continues Scootaloo, "Since we didn't know what he was, Sweetie Belle began to poke his helmet."

"Then he woke up!" Sweetie Belle finished before they all smile widely at Applejack. I find myself laughing, which only draws attention to myself.

"Why are ya sleeping on the floor?" Applejack asks. I chuckle before motioning to the bed.

"Bed's too small and I'm too heavy anyway," I reply, rapping a knuckle against my armored thigh.

"Which brings me to my next question: why do ya still have that on?" she asks.

I pull at the chest plate to no avail. Smirking, I flick at one of the big screws, "Can't. They sealed this puppy around me. Would take a very special, and very expensive, machine to get me out of this thing."

"Now why the hay would they trap you in it?"

I shrug, "So it doesn't fall off in battle. Or get ripped off. Hmmm..."

"What?" Applejack asks, noticing my humming.

"Just wondering what it would actually take to pry this thing off of me," I reply. I was thinking about that but it also had to do with a Hunter and their large shield. _No happy thoughts but, eh._

"I... see," she replies hesitantly before looking at the three foals. They were all looking at me in confusion, "Y'all head on down for breakfast. You can brainstorm later."

They all nod and rush out of the room. Slowly, I stand to my feet and briefly stretch before looking down at Applejack.

"You can come down too if ya like," she says.

"I think I will," I reply with a smile.

Applejack stood there for a second, as if wanting to say more. She apparently decided against it though as she turned around and walked out quickly. Giving a mental shrug, I turn and pick up my Assault Rifle. _Still got to fix that jam, _I note as I place it on my back. With my helmet in my left hand, I walk out into the hallway and turn to the stairs. Getting to the top of the stairs, I begin to hear conversation at the bottom.

Walking down, I hear the conversation stop. Coming out into the parlor, I turn to the other doorway and walk towards it. The doorway is suddenly blocked by a large red pony with an orange mane. A piece of straw is sticking out of his mouth and a work collar is around his neck. Oh, and he looks angry.

I come to stop in the middle of the parlor.

"I see that Applejack failed to mention me?" I ask.

"Yep," he replies. _Not much of a talker._

"Big Mac. Let him through. He ain't gonna hurt no pony and he's here on my allowance," I hear Applejack say from inside the other room. The red pony, Big Mac, stands there still and I begin to think that he won't move. Then, he steps back into the room and walks out of sight. _Overprotective brother? Nice._

Walking to the doorway, I duck and turn to walk through. When I do, I look around to see that this is there dining room. A large table is situated in the middle with enough chairs for everyone present and one more. At one end of the table is Big Mac. At the other end is an older looking pony, wrinkles and all, with a green coat and a gray mane. In between the two is Applejack and the three foals.

I look at the size and build of the wooden chairs before looking at my armor.

"Why aren't ya sitting?" I hear Apple Bloom ask.

"I'm afraid I might break your chair. I am pretty heavy in all this," I explain, looking at the chair.

"Oh," I hear Apple Bloom reply. I look back at the collected group of ponies and shrug.

"Well, what would ya like?" Applejack asks. I look at their plates and see a lot of green. _Duh. They are ponies. _I think inwardly before another thought comes along, _So bacon is probably out of question._

"An apple?" I ask, noticing a bowl of them on the table.

"Help yourself," Applejack states as she motions to the bowl. I nod to her and pluck an apple from the bowl. I take a bite out of it and experience the burst of flavor again. This time, though, I contain my feeling of glee at the flavors.

"So," I start, swallowing a piece of the apple, "how can I repay you for your hospitality?"

"Oh no. You don't need to repay me for anything," Applejack protests.

"Oh but I do. What you've done so far is more than most humans would do," I reply, taking another bite of the apple.

"Really?" she asks after a second of thought.

"Really. Most humans mindsets are like this in a sense: starving kid? Throw 'em a scrap of bread and hope they go away," I explain.

"That's... that's awful," Sweetie Belle says from her seat.

I nod, "It is. Which brings me back to," I look at Applejack, "this: What can I do to repay you?"

"Well, um," she starts, hesitating, "the Sisterhooves Social is coming up in a couple days and I'm gonna need help moving the hay bales into place to form the track."

"Now that," I take a bite from the apple, "sounds like something I can do. Just point it all out and I'll get on it."

"After breakfast, I'll show ya where," Applejack agreed. I look down at my apple and notice that it's basically all gone. Looking around, I spy a waste basket and toss it in there before motioning to the door to the parlor.

"I'll be in the next room over when it's time."

Without waiting for a response, I turn and shimmy through the doorway into the parlor. Stepping near the wall, I sit down cross-legged. Setting my helmet on the ground next to me, I take my Assault Rifle from my back and set it down in front of me. I set a hand on it and, within the minute, the rifle is now laying in front of me in several parts.

Organizing it all as if the rifle was still together, I grab the main part of the gun. Looking through the open action, I look at the stuck casing with a frown.

"Stupid thing," I mutter as I try to get an armored finger in there. When I realize that my fingers are too big, I begin to look around on my armor for anything smaller. My eyes settle on my knife. Drawing the knife, I look at it and then at the action. Shrugging, I put the tip of the knife through and begin to try to shimmy the casing out of the barrel.

I sit there wiggling the blade for I don't know how long before the casing starts to slide out. Withdrawing my knife, I tip the portion of rifle backwards and watch as the casing falls to the floor. Feeling victorious, I set the rifle portion down before raising both hands into the air.

"Huzzah," I cheer to myself. Hearing someone giggling, I look over at the doorway to see Applejack standing with a hoof to her mouth. Behind her hoof, I see a smile wide on her face. Feeling blood rush to my face, I lower my hands and sheathe my knife. I then begin to put together my rifle.

"You don't take idle too well, do ya?" I hear Applejack ask as she walks over to me.

"No ma'am," I reply as I snap together the last part of my rifle. I look up at Applejack to see her standing before me.

"Good. It means ya won't slack off. Now get up and come on. Ya got work to do."

I put my rifle on my back and shoot to my feet, "Yes ma'am!"

_**A/N: So the story continues...**_

_**As always, please leave a review informing me of your thoughts.**_


	7. Chapter 7

"'ight. So, again, just need ya to get the bales from the barn and line them up on them lines I drew in the dirt," Applejack explained, pointing to the two horseshoe shapes she scraped out with her hoof.

"Got it?" she asks, looking at me.

"Yes ma'am," I reply with a nod before turning to a nearby tree. Approaching it, I spotted an exposed branch and decided to hang my helmet off it. With my hands free, I turn and begin to jog back to the barn. Halfway into the jog, an old cadence comes into my mind.

"Helljumper, Helljumper, where ya been?

Feet first into hell and back again!

When I die please bury me deep!

Place an MA5 down by my feet!"

I was back at the barn now. Entering the main section through the big barn doors, I spot the bales of straw and move to them. Looking around, I spy a rope and an idea comes to mind. Taking the rope, I tie one end to the retaining strap of one bale before tying the other end to the retaining strap of another bale. Taking up the middle of the rope, I begin to pull. At first it was slow but as I picked up momentum, I picked up speed.

With this small accomplishment, I continue the cadence:

"Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear!

Just pack my box with PT gear!

Cause one early morning 'bout zero-five!

The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky!

Don't you worry, don't come undone!

It's just my ghost on a PT run!"

Finishing the cadence, I reached the clearing for the track. Applejack was sitting at the edge of the clearing, an eyebrow raised at my approach. Ignoring it, I untied the rope and let it fall to the ground before maneuvering the bales into place. Once they were set, I grabbed the rope and began the jog back.

"There was a girl who wore a yellow ribbon,

she wore it in the spring time in the merry month of May.

If you asked her why she wore that ribbon,

she'd say it was for the young Marine so far, far away.

Far, far away.

She wore it for the young Marine so far, far away."

Again I reached the barn and, again, I began to tie the rope to two bales of straw. Both cadence and movement continued when the rope was tied.

"Around the block she pushed a baby carriage,

she pushed it in the spring time in the merry month of May.

If you asked her why the heck she push it,

she'd say it was for the young Marine so far, far away.

Far, far away.

She pushed it for the young Marine so far, far away."

Back in the clearing, I untied the ropes and moved the bales into place. Applejack was gone now but I didn't mind that. When the bales were set up, I went back to get more.

It went like this for hours. Back and forth I went, singing any cadences I could remember. There was a lot as our DI rarely used the same one twice and yet made us memorize each one. _That son of a bitch. I wonder what he's up to right now._

"Mack!"

I look to the origin of the voice to see Applejack standing at the clearing's edge. Once I was looking at her, she motioned back to the barn.

"Come on, it's lunch time."

Pausing, I looked up. Sure enough, the sun was halfway across the sky. _Huh. When did that happen? _I looked back down.

"I'm not hungry, ma'am," I reply with a shrug. I really wasn't hungry. One of the effects of the Spartan injections.

Applejack looked skeptical though, "You sure? You ain't stealing our food."

I shook my head, "I know. I'm just not hungry."

"Alright than. I guess I'll leave ya to it," she replied before turning and beginning back to the house. Seeing as to how I had to go to the barn, I started jogging that way. Another cadence popped into my head. This one brought a smile to my face.

"Here's a little story I like to tell-"

"What are you doing? You've been singing all morning," I hear Applejack say. The sudden interruption brought me to a stop. Turning to face Applejack, I explain:

"They're called cadences. They're used in our military during runs and marches to keep step. That and they make it more enjoyable."

"Oh. So you're doing it to make work more enjoyable?"

"Exactly," I reply.

"I see. Go ahead then, I guess."

I nod to her before starting over, walking alongside her so she could hear it too.

"Here's a little story I like to tell.

If you've heard it before that's just as well.

I was talkin to my papa on his death bed.

With a smile on his face this is what he said.

Now the day I came out of my mother's womb

I found myself in the delivery room

All bloody and wet I rappelled to the floor

Cut the cord and crawled through the door.

I knew then I was a baby Marine

The baddest darn baby you had ever seen.

I had camouflage diapers and black shoes.

A butter knife sword and baby dress blues.

I wore three safety pins on my shoulder for rank.

I had a humvee stroller and a tricycle tank.

Showered up and dressed I marched through the ward.

Saluting all the nurses with my butter knife sword.

I heard some wimps just cryin like heck.

I rushed right in and yelled, "Attention on deck!"

When they said aye, aye I had made it.

The first commandant of the baby brigade.

Papa laid back and then he died.

I bowed my head but I didn't cry.

Now this little story I like to tell

'Cause Papa's in command of Marines in hell!"

I finally finished the cadence. The two of us were standing outside the barn as I was still in the middle of it when we reached the red building. I heard some giggling and looked to see that it was Applejack.

"That's some strange song you got there Mack," she stated.

Chuckling, I nodded my head, "That it is. Some aren't supposed to be serious though."

"I'm sure," she replies before asking, "Ya sure you don't want lunch?"

I nodded again, "Yeah, I'm sure. Speaking of which, I best get back to work."

"That you should," she agreed before turning and walking into the house section of the red building. I watched her go before turning to the barn doors and walking toward them, rope in hand.

"Time to get to work."

_**A/N: Here's the next ToC. Shorter than the rest, yes. However, I wanted to add some cadences and thought this was a perfect opportunity to do so. Turns out I didn't have enough extra stuff to make up the chapter. So, I apologize and would like y'all to just consider this as a bridge chapter.**_

_**Important News: Tomorrow (1/26/13) will not bear any new chapters for either Salvation or ToC. I already have a full-packed sixteen hour day so I'm not going to make it worse by trying to shove writing time in there.**_

_**Also, after the second update (which will come out Sunday (1/27/13)) there will be a day of no updates on Monday (1/28/13). I was informed of a big issue wrong with Salvation so that day will be a maintenance day for that story.**_

_**Anyways. As always, please leave a review informing me of any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.**_


	8. Chapter 8

The moon was in the sky by the time I had finished the track. Applejack had tried to fetch me for dinner and I told her that I still wasn't hungry. Then she had fetched me for sleep and I had said that I wasn't tired. Both of which were true yet I had heard the doubt in her voice. Before I could explain it though, she was gone.

Now, sitting on one of the straw bales, I looked up at the night sky and sighed. My eyes went from star to star, searching. I didn't know what for. Requiem was actually nowhere near a star. It didn't have the be. The Forerunners were very proficient in building independent stations. Requiem was a Dyson Sphere anyway. Metal surrounded the star and, inside the shell, was the landmasses. It was all very advanced.

Howling sounded in the distance. Looking in the direction of the howl, I feel my memories go back to Earth. It was after the evacuation of Reach and I was out camping with I saw a wolf across the river. It saw me and howled before darting away. I remember it being such a powerful looking animal.

Standing up, I walked to the tree that held my helmet. The moon lighting my way, I got to the tree rather quickly and grabbed my helmet. As soon as I did, I heard more howling, closer this time. Sniffing, I recoiled as a strong stench went into my nostrils.

I put on my helmet and let it seal. As it did, I activated the grainy green view of night vision and looked around the clearing. Movement at the edge caught my eye. It was fast and went from one bush to the other. In the corner of my eye I saw something else move in the same way.

_Moving like predators. Encircling their prey._ I thought to myself as I reached back and grabbed my Assault Rifle. Bringing it in front of me, I racked the bolt back to ensure a round was loaded before scanning the clearing.

The snapping of a twig caused me to spin around, rifle up. I was met with a blur moving away from the origin of the noise.

Suddenly, screaming pierced the night. It came from my right, causing me to look that way. When I did, I had a perfect sight of a beast charging at me. It looked unnatural yet natural at the same time. It was made of wood and was shaped like a wolf. All that went through my head in less then a second before finally ending in one, clear thought.

_It's attacking._

My finger depressed the trigger of the Assault Rifle. As I did, I turned off the night vision and flicked on the flashlights. If I didn't, the AR bursts would've blinded me. With the wooden wolf now lit up in white light, I could watch clearly as the rounds tore into it. Wood chippings went everywhere as the yellow flashes briefly overtook the white light of my flashlights. The recoil of the weapon was all but negated by my armor. The noise of the rifle was lessened by the sensors in my helmet.

With it's head looking like swiss cheese, the beast finally fell and skid to a stop. The skid brought it right to my feet where I promptly lifted my foot and crushed what was left of it's head. I could now feel several pairs of eyes boring into me. Looking around, I was met with brief glimpses of other wooden beasts circling around me.

Again, screams pierced the air, causing me to look in the direction of the cries. This time, though, none of the beasts attacked.

_They've never dealt with a firearm before, _I thought to myself as I debated my course of action. Coming to a decision was quick. Breaking into a sprint, I made for the trees in the direction of the screams. The rustling of bushes caused my head and rifle to snap left.

_Beast. Firing, _my brain monologued as the rifle barked and bucked. Looking at the ammo counter on the gun, I saw that it read '02'. Ejecting the magazine, I grabbed a fresh one, slapped it in, and yanked the bolt back. I scanned around as I ran but it appeared that the others were keeping back.

Screaming again. It was closer and I knew I was getting even closer every second I ran. Then there was a howl. Much louder and deeper than any other howl I had ever heard. It seemed to shake the very ground below my feet. This hellish howl was accompanied by the screams.

It wasn't long before I broke out of the forest and into another clearing. This one had an apple tree in the middle that held a clubhouse in it's branches. Of course, the clubhouse wasn't the thing that drew my attention.

Standing beside the tree was a large wood beast. It stood at almost twice my height and was plain huge. When I broke into the clearing, it was chewing on a piece of the tree. Now it was looking at me with drool somehow leaking from it's maw. The screams sounded again. Now I could tell where they came from: the clubhouse.

The large beast heard it too and began to turn it's attention back to the clubhouse.

"Hey! Big and ugly!" I shouted, shooting a burst of rounds at him. As I had expected, it did barely any damage but it did grab his attention. Now I had an overly big thing looking at me with hungry intent with smaller, similar things stalking me from the shadows.

_Oh joy._

The large beast roared, shaking the surrounding area before it charged at me. It was big, which meant it was slow. The charge was slow enough that I was able to get out of the way and avoid damage. After plowing down a tree, the thing turned to face me, it's maw hanging limp. In the white light of the my flashlights, I could see the hole that I presumed led to, literally, the belly of the beast. Feeling on my belt, my hand ran along the circular object hanging there.

_This is going to hurt... a lot, _I thought to myself as I let the rifle attach to my back. Grabbing the object from my belt, I also drew my knife in my left hand. As well as these, I accessed my helmet's functions and found the speaker controls. With a neural command, I turned my helmet's speakers to max while also turning the audio receivers down. By the time I had done all this, the beast was charging at me again.

Crouching down, I readied myself. When the thing got close, it brought it's paw up to swipe at me.

_Perfect._

I breathed in deeply and roared. The sheer volume of it caused the beast to hesitate mid-swipe. Taking the opportunity, I stabbed my knife into the wooden paw and rode out the rest of the swipe. When the paw was high in the air again, I let go of my blade and charged down the leg to it's head. When I had reached it's weirdly shaped head, I laid down on the nose, leaned over, primed the grenade, and tossed it into the throat hole.

It first started to choke before it swallowed. I was to my feet and jumping off when the grenade exploded. It must have reacted with something inside the beast because a secondary explosion occurred, ripping the beast apart and sending shrapnel everywhere. The speed and amount of shrapnel caused my shields to flare and drain two-thirds of the way.

Hitting the ground, I rolled to a crouch with rifle in hand, scanning the treeline for the smaller beasts. They were there still but they weren't advancing or retreating. Taking the opportunity, I stood up and backtracked to the tree that held the clubhouse. Modifying my helmet's audio systems back to their normal settings, I said:

"Stay in the clubhouse until I say otherwise."

There was no response but I could hear the crying and whimpering.

_God, I hope no one is hurt, _I think to myself as I scan the treeline, watching the wooden beasts darting from cover to cover. I started feeling light-headed but I stayed where I was, my eyes focused on the treeline.

It felt like hours had passed before the banging of metal pots reached my ears. What also reached my ears was the scrambling of the beasts as they fled the area.

_Pots... should've figured, _I thought to myself as I lower my rifle halfway and await the ponies. Soon enough, three ponies stepped the white-lit field of my flashlights. There was Applejack, her brother, and the old grandmother pony. All of them had metal pots or pans and were banging them.

When Applejack saw me, she yelled,

"Mack! Where are the fillies?"

"In the clubhouse still," I replied before elated cries came out of said clubhouse. I heard a door slam open so I looked up to see the three little ponies that had woken me up standing on the clubhouse's balcony, looking down at us.

"Applejack!" shouted the yellow one as all of them came running down and to said orange pony. A large smile spread on Applejack's face as she dropped her pans and wrapped the three fillies in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're all okay. When we heard the howling, we thought they was just shouting from Everfree," she explained.

"They were all over the clearing!" exclaimed the orange one, "Then a big one came and started chewing the tree!"

Applejack looked around, "We didn't see no big one."

"That's because Mack did something to make it explode!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

This caused Applejack to look at where I still stood sentry, "And what was that?"

I shrugged, "Long story. Suggest we get back to the barn before we recount tales."

"Yep," agreed the big red pony.

"A'ight, let's get moving then y'all," Applejack stated. The three fillies stayed close to her as we started moving back toward the barn. As we did, I saw my knife on the ground. Picking it up, I shook off any dirt on it before sheathing it.

The walk back was uneventful. We had walked back with granny and Big Mac (I think his name was) leading, banging their pans. Applejack and the little ponies were in the middle with me bringing up the rear.

When we got to the barn, I saw the lit candles and the ponies waiting outside. Turning off my flashlights, I followed the group to the waiting ponies.

"Applejack! What's going on. We heard howling and booms," asked Twilight, stepping forward.

"Timberwolves attacked the fillies at their clubhouse. Don't much know what happened after that besides that Mack saved the three of them," Applejack explained. I was standing with my rifle half raised, night vision on, and back to the group as I scanned the treeline. So I couldn't really read their expressions.

"Mack?" Applejack asked after half a minute of silence.

"Hmm? I'm listening," I reply without looking back.

"They're gone Mack. We drove 'em off with the pans."

"Sorry but I don't exactly take chances when facing things that can somehow be twice the size of me. Can we head inside please? I'll tell it all in there."

"Alright. Ya heard him, everypony inside."

Glancing back, I watched them all go into the house. When they were all in, I walked backward through the door, watching the treeline the entire time. Inside, I closed the door, turned off the night vision, and turned to face the gathered ponies. They were all looking at me with confused and worried looks.

"You okay there, darling?" asked Rarity, who wore a nightgown.

"You serious?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking taken back.

I sigh, "Three kids, and myself, were attacked by those Timberwolf things at night with one of them being twice the size of _me_. Afterward, I sit out there in a clearing for hours listening and watching them dart from bush to tree to bush until help finally comes. Hours of waiting for the next run for try to take me out. You have any idea what that's like? I'm pretty sure the kid's will be having nightmares for weeks and I sure as hell won't be doing any better because of the memories that dragged up. So don't you ask me if I'm alright!"

At the end of the rant, I'm feeling particularly light-headed. I watch as my vision begins to close in and feel myself begin to sway. Flicking the safety on my rifle, I drop my rifle and rip off my helmet before I begin coughing. Feeling something wet leave my mouth during the coughing, I look down at the floor to see little red droplets staring at me.

"Shit," I mutter before my knees give away and the blackness finally consumes my mind.

_**A/N: Done! Enough action for an entire chapter, how 'bout that? Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter.**_

_**Response to Anonymous Reviewer of Ch.7 known as "Guest": No, I am not a member of the military. My dad is retired USAF and I do plan on going into the US Army but I am not currently a member of the military. May I ask why you asked?**_

_**To Everypony: As always, please leave a review with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_Gah. What? What happened? _Opening my eyes, I was blinded by light. My eyes closed in protest to the light and a groan escaped my lips.

"I think he's awake!" I hear someone exclaim. Hooves against wood accompany the shout. Remembering what happened before I passed out, my eyes shoot open and I try to push myself to a sitting position. This causes pain to flare in my chest, bringing my hand to my skin.

_Skin!_

Moving my hand from my chest, I raise it up in front of me. Pale skin looked back at me. A orange hoof came to rest on my shoulder and tried to push me back down. I let it but I continued to look at my hand.

"Mack?"

Looking over at the voice, I see Applejack looking at me with a worried expression. The memory of why I was sitting up in the first place came back.

"The girls?" I ask quietly. She smiles and nods.

"They're 'ight," she replies.

I go back to looking at my hand, "My armor?"

"I can answer that one," answers a voice to my left. I look over to see Twilight standing there with an accomplished look on her visage. "When you passed out, you were coughing up blood. We rushed you here, to the Ponyville hospital. Your armor prevented the doctors from working on you and that was when Applejack told us how it was on you. I was then able to hunt down and undo the screws and latches with my magic, allowing the doctors to work on you."

"Internal bleeding?" I ask after a moment of thought.

Twilight nods, "Seems like your foam cracked and allowed the bleeding to continue. The doctors had to dig that out of you before they could stop the bleeding."

"Over exertion, surely," I reply before lifting my blanket. Sure enough, there were stitches thread into my chest.

"Indeed," intones a new voice. I look up to see a brown coated pony in a doctor's coat looking back at me. He seems undisturbed that I am not of his world. _Interesting._ "You have a good amount of knowledge about medicine."

"Kind of have to for my job," I motion to my chest," how long for the stitches?"

"Not long, actually," he answers as he moves to the foot of my bed. I notice that a table is holding up my lower legs and feet, "You have shown signs of increased healing, even for an alien being such as yourself. Three days at best. Four at worst. May I ask how you are able to heal so quickly?"

I chuckle, "Even I don't know the science behind that one doc."

"Shame," he responds with a downtrodden look. He then turns and starts to head out, "I'll leave you all until visiting is over."

With that, he was gone from the room. That left me with two women. Both, I realized, I knew very little about.

"So, what do you two do?" I ask offhandedly.

"Well," began Applejack, "I'm the owner of Sweet Apple Acres, the farm you saw. Me and my family have been working there since before I was born to supply apples to Equestria."

"And Equestria is your country. Correct?"

"Correct," Twilight replies, causing me to look over at her, "I'm the closest thing to a librarian in this town and I'm also Princess Celestia's pupil."

I nod, "Princess Celestia and her sister Luna. They rule Equestria?"

"Yes. For over a thousand years, they've led us and watched over us," replies the unicorn.

"A thousand years, huh?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Yep. They are immortal after all."

I look over at Twilight, laughing. The laughing was causing my chest to flare in pain but I ignored it, "Nothing is immortal."

"I beg to differ," Twilight protests, causing me to chuckle.

"In the words of my Drill Sergeant; 'If it ain't dying, you ain't using a big enough gun.'," I reply.

Shocked silence permeated the room, prompting me to shrug.

"What's your world like?" Twilight finally asks.

"Which one?"

"What do you mean?"

I sigh, "In my dimension, humans have began to colonize the stars. We learned that our homeworld was not the only world that could support life. So, we sought out these worlds on giant vessels called starships and began to settle on them. At the beginning of the Human-Covenant War, we had settled hundreds of planets. An Empire spanning the stars." I found myself chuckling after using the word 'Empire'. The UNSC tried hard to diminish the thought but, in all uses of the term, it was an Empire.

"How many do you have now?" I hear Applejack ask.

I hold up my right hand, index finger extended, "One."

"One?" I hear disbelief in her voice. One which I would share if I hadn't lived through it.

I nod, "One. Our homeworld. The rest were glassed. Made uninhabitable by the Covenant."

"How?" Twilight asks.

"There once was a human who had three laws to the world around him. The third one was: Any advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. The Covenant," a chuckle, "they were magical. They used lasers, plasma, crystalline explosives, shields, on and on the list goes of what they had that was superior to what we had. It would take five of our ships to destroy one of their ships and we'd still lose three ships."

"That's awful," I hear Applejack intone.

"It was. World after world fell to the alien onslaught. When they took a world, they didn't try to settle it. No, they turned their ship cannons onto the world and burnt the surface to a crisp. If you didn't get off the planet, you were a dead man. Only way we held on so long was because of secrecy. As the war went on, though, we began getting their technology. We began studying it and trying to make our own of it. The war heavily outpaced this, though. Soon, they were at Reach. My home. The most heavily protected planet in the UNSC."

I stop talking to take a shaky breath. I feel a hoof rest upon my right shoulder. Smiling sadly, I continue, "Reach fell before week's end. A fortress world and even it couldn't stand up to the Covenant. It was just Earth then. Our homeworld. Every soldier and every ship were called home. We knew this was our last stand. Victory or defeat would mean the survival of humanity or it's extinction. I was a new blood then. A Marine Private with vengeance in mind and survival in heart."

"What happened?" Twilight asks after the silence had drawn on for about a minute.

"They attacked. Blew away our ships. Blew apart our orbital defenses. One second I was sitting peacefully in a base. Next I was crawling out of a crashed Pelican with plasma zipping overhead. This invasion was different though. They didn't start burning the planet outright. No, they began digging for something. And we began harassing them. Hit-and-run strikes here and there. Trying to poke through and see what they were looking for."

I chuckle before continuing, "Turns out, though, the Covies were having a family dispute. See, the Covenant was a mixture of different races. Each race had their role in the Covenant. Well, their leaders, the Prophets, basically told their guardians, the Elites, to screw off. That sparked an internal war that led to the separation of the Elites from the Covenant. The Elites, seeing as to how we were both fighting the same people, decided to team up with us humans.

"So when our big counter-attack was close to failing and a plague was sweeping across a portion of the planet, the Elites jumped in and gave a helping hand. They helped us push back the Covenant. They also burnt half of one of our landmasses but that was to get rid of the plague. Earth was saved then. I was assigned to help flush-out any surviving Covenant on Earth while the rest of the forces went off to keep pushing back the Covenant. When I heard of the Spartan Four program, I literally knocked people aside trying to get into the program."

I chuckle before motioning to the bed, "Now I'm here."

"That's... some story ya got there," I hear Applejack say in a unsure tone.

"It's all true."

"What is true," starts the doctor pony as he finishes stepping into the room, "is that visiting hours are over and Mack here needs to get his sleep. You can come back tomorrow to see him."

"Alright doctor," Twilight says before motioning to Applejack, "Come on AJ."

"I'm coming," she replies before following Twilight out of the room. When they were both gone, the doctor nods to me.

"Good night."

"Night doc," I reply as the doctor walks over, blows out the candles next to my bed and then walks out. When he was gone, I find myself rubbing the tips of my thumb and index finger together. It felt weird with my fingers being bare. _Oh well. Might as well get used to it, _I think to myself before closing my eyes and allowing myself to drift to sleep.

_'Sleep well Mack. We will be meeting soon.'_

_**A/N: Here's the next chapter of ToC. Sorry for the week of nothing guys. I had bought Skyrim and have been playing that. I have also, sadly, hit a wall for Salvation. I'm sure I can find a way around it but it may take me awhile. Until then, I'll be sure to keep updating ToC.**_

_**Again, sorry guys.**_

_**As always, please leave a review telling me what you think.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Three days in a hospital room doesn't do a Spartan good. Especially a Spartan that's seemingly been exiled from his universe. Many times during the first full day, I found myself lost in ever saddening thoughts. I tried reading but that didn't last long. So I asked for paper and a quill and wrote anything that came to mind.

One poem sat in the center of the paper and I always let my eyes drift back to it. It read:

"To the dark wall

that stands so tall.

I wait for the day

when the siege will lay.

I wait to hear the creaking

that will begin the cracking.

I wait for it to crumble

and disappear with a rumble.

To the dark wall

that stands so tall.

Oh, how I wait for you to fall."

_The dark wall in my mind, _I think to myself. Hearing the door open, I fold the paper and tuck it under my body before looking up to see the doctor pony. His name, Caregiver, was aptly given. All I saw him do the three days I was in here was take care of me and make sure I was healing properly.

"Well, looks like you might be leaving today," he states before lifting my covers and looking at my chest.

"Ah, yes. That's looking good," he says, lowering the covers before looking at me, "While I want to take them out, I think it'd be best if they stay in for two more days. Just in case."

"Of course," I reply, nodding.

"Good. Now, I just need you to sit up real slowly," he commands. Slowly, I sat myself up, feeling some pain but not enough to cause any physical reaction.

"Good," he says when I'm sitting up, "Now. Your friends have a present for you."

With that, he walked out, leaving me to think about what the ponies might have for me. With how this world seemed to be, it could be _anything_. I wouldn't be surprised if they came in with a unicycling circus bear and told me it was now my pet.

When the six ponies walked in, I saw Rarity holding a flat blue box with a navy ribbon tied around it.

"Hey girls."

"Hey Mack," they all reply.

"How ya feeling?" Applejack asks.

"Much better then when I first woke up, that's for sure," I respond, chuckling to myself.

"That's wonderful dear," Rarity states as she stepped forward, "As a recovery gift, I made you this. Though, it's from all of us."

With that, she hands me the box. Looking at it, I smile sadly at the box.

"What's wrong sugarcube?"

"Nothing. Just memories."

"Well, are you going to open it?" asks Pinkie Pie, who looks to be bouncing in place. Chuckling at her, I gingerly remove the ribbon before lifting off the top of the box. Under some tissue paper, I see some sort of cloth. Setting the box on my lap, I lift out the cloth to see that it's actually a black shirt with red trim. Under it, I see what could only be pants. From what I saw, they were also black with a red stripe going down the sides. On the left sleeve of the shirt was the red and black Runic emblem of Fireteam Crimson.

As I looked at the clothes and the emblem, I felt my eyes begin to water.

"I told you he wouldn't like the colors!" I hear Rarity exclaim.

"Well, I just assumed he would like it if it matched his armor," Twilight counters.

"I do like it Rarity," I choke out as I look at the white unicorn, "Thank you."

The white unicorn smiled kindly.

"Then why are you crying?" I look at the voice to see Rainbow Dash looking at me inquisitively.

"This," I say, holding up the sleeve that had the emblem, "it's the symbol of my team. I just... I miss them so much. They're the only family I have and it... it..."

"Shhh," shushes Applejack as she puts a hoof on my arm, "we understand."

"Thank you. All of you," I finally say. I then see that Twilight is also carrying a box and motion to it, "What's in there?"

"Shoes," she replies, levitating the box to me. Opening it, I see a pair of black boots and a pair of socks.

"How... how did you make all these?"

"Well darling," Rarity begins, "now that we have you out of that barbaric armor, we simply couldn't let you lock yourself back in it. So we..." she paused, "well... we looked at the photo in your helmet and Twilight told us that all humans wear clothes so I decided to make you a set."

"I then went to a shoemaker in Canterlot to get the boots special made," Twilight adds, smiling. I let that sink in for a couple moments before smiling,

"Thanks girls. Really, I mean it."

"You're quite welcome dear," Rarity replies for the group.

"You might want to get up and dress fast, though," Applejack intones, casting a glance at her friends.

"Why?" I ask as I find the undergarments they had also made. Going under the sheets, I slide them on before flipping off the sheets. This left the ponies quite surprised. Applejack, especially, looked surprised and had a blush on her face.

"Because. Two very important ponies are at the library, waiting to talk to you," Twilight finally says as I begin to slip on the clothes. I was surprised to see that they fit perfectly. _Must have been from when the doc took my height and weight._ I think to myself as I button up my pants and begin to shrug on the shirt.

"Who?" I ask through the shirt.

"One you should already know. You did use your body to protect her from an explosion," she hints with a smirk as I sit down and begin to put on the socks and boots.

"I'm guessing the other pony is Luna than?"

"You are correct," Twilight answered. I nod my head as I finish getting my boots on and tying them. Standing, I stretched my limbs to get used to the clothes before looking at the ponies around me.

"This may seem weird but, uh, where's my pistol?" I ask, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

"At the library, sitting next to your armor. Why?" Twilight asks back.

"May seem silly but I don't really like not being without a weapon," I shrug, "Guess it's because of the war."

"Oh. I see," replies the purple unicorn as she nodded sadly.

A moment of awkward silence permeated the room. Finally, I fake-coughed.

"We shouldn't keep them waiting."

I watch as the ponies nod their heads and all of us begin to leave the room. As we left, I made sure to grab the paper and stuff it in my pocket.

Walking through the town, a lot of ponies were looking at me with confusion. That's understandable since I am an alien being in their town. Looks never bothered me much anyway. As a Spartan, I learned quick to ignore the looks that people would give me. Some would be just awe and respect. Others, the zealous "Pure Humanity" bastards, would look at us with such hate that it would put the Devil himself to shame.

Reaching the library, I was honestly surprised to see that it was a tree with the library carved out inside. Opening the door, I walked in first at the motion of the ponies. Princess Celestia and a similar looking pony were standing inside. The other pony was of darker color with a flowing mane that looked to be a field of stars. _Luna. That's her name, _my mind informs me as I nod to them.

"Ah, it appears he has finally arrived," Luna remarks.

If there was a reply from anyone else, I didn't here it. My entire world froze when I heard her voice. Chaos began to reign in my mind as I dug and dug for where I had heard her voice before. Finally, my mind found the information and all I could muster was an unoriginal:

"You..."

_**A/N: Here we go. The next chapter of ToC. I was half-tempted to declare this a Skyrim day but I felt the urge to write. Granted, I didn't write much but I did write. Hopefully I can find a way to get back to lengthier chapters.**_

_**As always... ah, never mind. Y'all know what to do.**_


	11. Chapter 11

"You..."

"Excuse me?" questions Celestia. I can't see her face though, as I stare at her sister and that knowing smirk on _her_ face.

"You!" I shout, a finger pointing at her and my other hand clenched in a fist. I step towards her, "You were in my head when I slept! Made me watch every _fucking _memory while adding your own goddamn commentary!"

"Luna? Is this true? Did you enter his dreams?" I hear Celestia ask. I watched as Luna's smirk grew into a smile.

"Of course sister. I had to know more about-"

"I'll fucking kill you!" I shout, charging at the pony. Suddenly, I find myself flying backward and slamming into a wall. The hit was hard enough to knock out some air and hurt but not hard enough to do major damage. In my rage, I still tried to get at the dark pony, "I'm going to rip off your head! Agh! Let me go!"

_She made me suffer! When I get off this damn wall- _The angry thoughts drifted through my mind as I continued to resist against the magic holding me against the wall.

"Luna! You invaded his memories?" I hear Celestia exclaim.

"Let me down!" I shout, my blind anger beginning to subside.

"How else are we to learn of him and his kind?" Luna asks.

"By asking, you insensitive bitch!" I shout from my spot on the wall.

"Lyons!" I hear Twilight exclaim, though I ignore it as I glare at Luna.

"While he did put it a bit rudely," Celestia begins, sending a look my way, "I agree with Lyons. You should have asked instead of invading his memories while he slept."

I stay silent against the wall, trying to calm myself. In the following silence, I do just that. Breathing normally, I feel the magic around me lessen until I slide down to the floor. Turning, I practically kick open the door and walk outside, ignoring the protests of the ponies inside the library.

I walk aimlessly until I end up in a park in front of a fountain. The ponies around me give me space, which I find myself enjoying. Looking into the fountain, my face stares back at me. The brown hair was cut short and the hazel eyes seemed dulled. A scar went over my right eye and some facial hair was beginning to grow.

Making my hands into a cup shape, I put them in the water before splashing my face with the water. Now, face dripping, I look up at the sky and close my eyes. _I almost assaulted their Princess. I was also yelling profanities and throwing threats. _I think to myself before sighing, _I screwed up, didn't I?_

"Mack?"

I open my eyes and look back at the water.

"Hey Applejack. If you're here to tell me to leave town, I understand."

"No. Sugarcube; I ain't here to do that," she replies from behind me.

"Why not? I just threatened your Princess. Tried to kill her," I shrug, "I don't fit in here anyway. This place... it feels wrong for me to be here. A human in a peaceful world? Of course I won't fit in."

"Now you stop that kinda talk. While what you did was surprising, I can see why you might have reacted the way you did."

"Can you? You have no idea what she saw. No idea what she made me see _again_. The wave of emotions I felt. Then, when I heard her voice, it all came rushing back. I-I-"

I felt a hoof touch my arm and try to turn me around. Allowing it to, I saw Applejack smiling up at me. Standing up on her hind legs, Applejack then threw her forelegs around me in a hug.

"It's alright big guy. Everypony makes mistakes. While I might not know what she saw, I know that it hurt you to see it again. That's I need to know to forgive ya," she explains.

Smiling, I find myself hugging her back. I then see something that made me smile even more... and blush.

"Applejack?"

"Yeah?"

"You may want to lower your tail."

Instantly, Applejack detaches from me and steps away, her tail shooting down between her legs. Her once orange face was now an apple red color.

"We... uh... we should head back," Applejack mutters, not looking up at me.

"Alright," I reply. Awkwardly, we walk out of the park and through the town to get back to the library. When we got back, Applejack had her tail hanging where it normally did but she still refused to look up from the ground. Entering the library, I stopped at the door while Applejack went to be near her friends. Still standing in the center of the room were the two Princesses.

"My apologies for my earlier actions," I say, bowing slightly at the waist.

"I think I should be the one apologizing," Luna replies.

"If you wish to do so, though I know see the reasoning behind your actions."

"Oh really?"

I nod, "Speech can be modified, memories cannot."

"Indeed," she states, looking at Celestia, "I like this human, sister. While," she looks back at me, "barbaric at times, it appears he can also use logic to his advantage."

"All due respect Princess, but my armor didn't just appear from thin air."

"Witty too."

"Luna, please," Celestia intones as she seemingly motions for Luna to cease. She then looks at me, "You mentioned your armor. Can you explain how it works?"

_Can I tell them? It is still classified after all... what do I do?_

"That's... umm... classified. Ma'am," I reply, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Classified?"

"Secret," I explain.

"You are the only human here though," she points out.

"I am," I begin, "though if I find a way home, or should the UNSC discover this planet, I would rather not have ONI on me for talking about classified information."

"ONI?"

"Office of Naval Intelligence. They do all the cloak and dagger so that us Spartans and Marines can go in and do the shooting."

"I... see," Celestia replies, not sounding like she did, "Anything you can tell me about the armor?"

"It enhances every aspect of the human body. Strength, agility, power, endurance, sight, hearing, everything. Within the Spartan community, it had been nicknamed: 'Your Second Skin'. This is because of it's skintight design and how Spartan Two's and Three's were known for rarely taking off their armor."

"Two's and Three's?"

"Different... variations of Spartans. The generation Two's are, so far, considered the best. They were chosen based on their genetic traits and other factors. They were then trained for over ten years before giving the augmentations. Then they were trained some more, given their armor, and sent to fight.

"The generation Three's were... shadier then the Two's. The Three's were a byproduct of ONI and meant more for mass production of super-soldiers. Training was short and selection was wide. A lot of what they did is still covered in black ink."

"Black ink?"

"Sorry. Human term. It's still secret," I explain.

"I see," Celestia states, this time looking like she actually does understand, "And you are?"

"A generation Four. Four's are, supposedly, a perfect balance between the Two's and Three's."

"How many of you are there?" Luna asks.

"Of the generation Four's? Hundreds. No known, surviving generation Three and only one generation Two."

"Hundreds?" Celestia asks rhetorically.

"You were talking about... Marines, I think you said. What are they?" Luna questions.

"Normal soldiers. Not augmented like Spartans and they don't wear our kind of armor. Instead, they wear lighter, unpowered armor."

"How many Marines are there?"

"Hundreds of thousands."

"Hundreds of- Are you lying to us?" Celestia asks with a look of disbelief.

"No. See, my species is just coming out of a devastating war that took us to the brink of extinction. I don't know if Twilight told you but we went from living on hundreds of different planets to only living on one. An interesting aspect of humans is that we _all_ fight when threatened. When the threat to Earth, our homeworld, was announced, the recruiting offices were overflowing. We had more people then we had ships and guns. When we finally found ourselves on the offensive and when our manufacturing caught up, we threw ourselves at the universe, hunting down any survivors of our enemy."

"Did they surrender?" she asks.

I shake my head, "No. They gave no sign of surrender. None was expected... and none would be taken."

"Why not? If they surrender, why would you continue?" Luna asks, her visage one of intrigue.

"They _burned _worlds, Princess. Made them totally uninhabitable. They did not take prisoners. They took _food_. Any captured human was tortured and then fed to the Jackals and Grunts. They declared us as an infestation to be wiped off the face of the galaxy. If one was to tell a human to make nice to one of them, they would immediately report you to ONI," I explain, remembering some of the stories told by the veteran Marines.

"I remember you telling me about the Elites, though," Twilight adds, joining the conversation.

"Just because we accepted their help, doesn't mean we like them. I, personally, don't have any qualms with a friendly Elite. It was a Jackal that killed my mom, not an Elite. However, other humans do. Hate crimes have been reported against them. Likewise, many Elites still don't like us. In fact, on Requiem, I was fighting an Elite led cult."

"Oh," she replies, looking at the floor.

"Indeed," I state as I look at the Princesses, "Anything else?"

"Oh, we still have a lot to discuss," Celestia says with an authoritative tone. Spreading my legs, I grasp my hands behind my tailbone. Now standing at Parade Rest, I nod my head.

"Ask away."

_**A/N: Whoo! Five pages! ...kinda.**_

_**Oh well. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and the little twist I threw in about Luna. ...and again with Applejack.**_

_**As always, please leave a review with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.**_

_**Response to "Guest" [Chapter Ten]: Twilight was able to remove his armor. If you re-read Chapter Nine, you will see Twilight talk about it.**_


	12. Chapter 12

A week had passed since the questioning by the Princesses. It lasted long into the night, as I had suspected it would as they asked me about almost every aspect of my dimension. Why do we wear clothes? What was our planet like? What are Spaceships? What do we eat?

Oh, that one had a few... instances of misunderstanding. Though, it was soon settled. Settled after some harsh words and maybe a hoof to the shin. However, it _was _settled and all was understood. As long as I didn't eat meat (without first traveling to the land of Gryphons), I would be able to stay in Equestria.

When the questioning was done, Luna had risen the moon and only Twilight, the Princesses, and myself remained. The Princesses then departed via teleportation after giving a farewell. I was mildly surprised by their personal teleportation abilities. However, I then remembered that they were magical beings.

I had grabbed my pistol after that and tucked it in my pants before saying a good-bye to Twilight and leaving the library. Then, I had walked back to the Apple family home and modified the bed so that I could sleep in it. Needless to say, it was the best sleep I have had in a long while.

In the days after, I spent the sun hours helping Applejack around the farm. We didn't discuss the incident at the fountain and it was nice to just pretend like it didn't happen. I didn't know how to feel about a pony being attracted to me. Especially since I didn't hold the same feeling... at the time.

As the days went on, I began to find things to like about Applejack besides her friendship. She's strong, responsible, and independent. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm going to try to sweep her off her hooves. She is a different species, after all. It'd just feel strange.

"Mack?"

Coming out of my trip down memory lane, I look to the voice to see a con fused Applejack.

"You alright there sugarcube?"

"I'm fine," I reply as my right hand brushes the thigh holster and the pistol within. I had had Rarity order it from Canterlot for me. It was made to match the coloring of my outfit, which Rarity gladly made more of.

"You sure? Ya seem out of it," Applejack states.

I nod, "I promise you. I'm fine. How many more trees are we gonna do today?"

"Just gonna finish off this section and then haul the load back to the barn," she replies before smiling evilly at me, "Why? Ya getting tired?"

"Ha!" I laugh, "I don't believe I've met this 'tired' you speak of. Is he from around here?"

I listen to Applejack's laugh, finding myself slightly endeared by it, "Alright smartflank. Let's get back to work."

"Ma'am," I reply, giving her a mock salute before moving down the rows of trees to find one that we've yet to harvest. Finding one with empty buckets beneath it, I ran at the tree. When I was close enough, I jumped and put out both feet to hit the trunk. Once my feet hit, the tree shook and the apples dropped into the buckets on their own, undamaged. Getting back to my feet, I absently rubbed my left side while looking at the, now full, buckets.

"If only it was this easy in my dimension," I mutter with a chuckle as I move on. It took only a few hours for us to finish up the section of the farm and about two hours after to haul all the buckets to the barn. By the time we were done, the sun was finishing it's arc across the sky.

"So," Applejack starts as she trots up next to me outside the barn, "have you met Tired yet?"

"Hmmm," I hum as I put my finger to my chin in thought, "Nope."

Applejack laughs again, "Alright, Mr. Tough Pony. Why don't you head inside so that we can eat."

I nod and follow the orange pony into the house. Once inside, I'm immediately assaulted by the smell of pie. Closing my eyes, I take in a deep whiff of the pie before opening my eye and walking into the dining room. Said pie was the center piece of the table. Sitting in front of what quickly became 'my seat' was a plate with beans, lettuce and an apple. There were more beans since they were necessary for my protein intake. The gas it gave me was just a sacrifice I'd have to make.

"Mister Lyons?"

"Yes Apple Bloom?"

Said filly put down her dandelion sandwich before setting her chin on her hooves and leaning froward, looking at me from across the table. Her eyes were inquisitive and her entire manner reminded me of a Marine interrogator I once met.

"What do you think of my sister?"

_Choking now, _I think to myself as I pound my chest to try to get the beans out of my windpipe. I can feel that my face is red, though from embarrassment or choking, I don't even know.

"Apple Bloom!" I hear Applejack exclaim. Then I hear, "Big Mac, help him out!"

I could hear the chair scoot back and the clopping of hooves. They stopped near me and then something heavy hit my back hard. It dislodged the beans but damn did it hurt. Swallowing the food that almost killed me, I nod my thanks to Big Mac. The big pony nods back before going back to his seat.

Coughing, I excuse myself from the table, stand up, and walk out of first the dining room and then the house. Once outside, I finish my coughing session before looking up at the, now dark, sky.

_How the hell could I have replied to that? _I think to myself, _"Your sister is very nice"? No, I don't think that would have been sufficient for anyone._

Sighing, I look at the rising moon and think of the stellar cycles here. Both the sun and the moon are controlled by Celestia and Luna respectively. _Interesting._

Shaking my head, I clear it of those useless thoughts and look back at the moon.

"Luna. I-I feel stupid talking to the moon but, if you are listening, hear me out. Please, I need a sign as to what to do. Anything," I mumble, feeling like an idiot as I try to lay my problem onto the Princess that had invaded my mind. _No. You're over that. You know why she did that._

I was brought from reverie not by the soothing voice of a pony, in my head or not. No, I was brought out of it by a chest rattling _SLAP!_ that resounded over the land. Not a second after, it appeared that the sun had returned as night became day.

Looking up, I scan the sky before I'm looking over the barn at a ball of fire that appears to be traveling across the sky at high speeds. It wasn't all fire though. There was also the glow of lights and the blocking of the stars behind it hinted to smoke.

"What the hell?" I mutter as I watch it coming closer. I felt safe enough since it was still high in the sky. When it went overhead, I got a glimpse at it's silhouette and felt ice in my chest that even the fires couldn't melt. It was then that my mind tracked out it's route and descent and the grip of the ice tightened.

"Mack? What is that?" I hear Applejack shout at me as I track the object.

I snap my head at the barn and shout, "Get Big Mac and follow me! It's going to hit Ponyville!"

"Buck!" Applejack curses before rushing inside. Not a second later, she's back outside with Big Mac tailing.

"Let's m-"

A loud boom and a big ball of fire interrupts me. Just as I feared, it all came from Ponyville.

"Shit! Let's go!" I shout before taking off at a sprint. _How many houses did it hit? Is anyone dead?_

Those thoughts and more were rushing through my head as I ran toward the town. Screaming was reaching my ears as we got closer.

"Oh buck!" I hear Applejack curse again just before we enter the town itself. Houses are alight in flames while others are just smashed. A large trench is carved out in the ground and pieces of wreckage is littered around it. Confused and injured screams echo throughout the town as ponies scramble to try to respond to this disaster.

I turn to bark orders at my two companions but I see that they are already gone. _Good._ I think to myself as I turn and charge down the trench. This path took me through four destroyed, and alight, houses before finally depositing me into the Ponyville park. Laying in the middle of the park, the fountain barely spared, was the mass of metal that had fallen from the heavens.

"Son of a bitch..." I mutter before running to the downed Pelican. It was resting with it's tail up in the air, allowing me to see that the back hatch was ripped off completely. Human bodies lay around the open hatch, all wearing the standard Marine armor. Some bodies were missing pieces while the others looked to be unnaturally contorted. Looking through the hatch, I dismissed the pilots as the cockpit and the front of the blood bay was buried under dirt.

Climbing into the hatch, I look around at the fire-lit scene. No one is moving or even making an effort to move. Slowly, I walk towards the buried front. _How did this happen? _I mentally ask myself before seeing something odd. Moving to it, I see that it's an arm sticking up from the dirt. That's not what was attracting my attention though. It was the armor and color scheme of the arm.

_No... it-it can't be._

Digging, I tried to uncover the owner of the arm. The fires continued to rage around me and the screams and shouting of the ponies continued as I dug. First, I uncovered the left pauldron. This wasn't a normal pauldron, though. It was actually four loops that still held the big Sniper Rifle rounds.

"Nononononono..." I repeat as I dig faster. Next was the Recon chestplate. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears now, threatening to burst from my chest as I dug where I thought the head to be. I flung away the dirt as fast as I could, the fires and screaming now at the back of my mind.

My life came to a halt as I finally uncovered the head. A Recon helmet was looking up at me, the familiar black and red pattern as the rest of the armor. In the black area where the mouth would be was an all-too familiar Runic symbol.

"Shadow..." I whisper as I touch the helmet, as if making sure it was real. A red and black hand suddenly clamped onto my forearm, making me jump out of my skin.

"You're still alive!" I shout before moving to finish digging out my friend. Only mild surprise went through me when I noticed that she was trying to dig herself out as well. It didn't take lone before Shadow was sitting up, free of the dirt.

She looked at me, seemingly studying my face before pulling me into a hug. As I feel my heart about to be squeezed out of my head, I mutter,

"Shadow, your armor."

Instantly, she lets go of me and, even through the armor, looks embarrassed. I set a hand on her shoulder and smile,

"It's alright Shadow. I-I missed you too," I say before looking around and finally remembering the situation of our reunion. I motion for Shadow to stand as I do so myself.

"We still got work to do Shadow."

_**A/N: Here we go! Getting further and further on.**_

_**I hope all of you are enjoying this story.**_

_**As always, please leave a review with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.**_


	13. Chapter 13

"You're full, go!" I shout as I pat the back of a wagon loaded with injured ponies. They were all writhing around in pain and it was obvious that some would be missing limbs when they were released. Luckily, all of the ponies we found _will _be released alive from the hospital. No pony casualties have been documented so far.

By an act of... the Princesses (_I guess, _I think) the houses that were crushed by the Pelican's "landing" were empty. Everyone who was injured was so from the flying debris and the fires that still raged on.

With the last group of injured ponies on their way, I let myself fall into the firefighting procession. I was now in a long line of ponies who were passing buckets up and down the line. Buckets full of water went up, empty buckets came down to the river where they would be filled and sent back up.

Passing the buckets down the line, I hear some ponies humming a tune. As if it was planned, one then began to sing, her voice heard over the raging flames.

"_Oh, it was such a peaceful night!"_

A group of other ponies then sang: _"What a wonderful night!"_

First pony: _"But then there was a 'SLAP!' and night once more became day!"_

Group: _"Once more became day!"_

"_Looking up in the sky, I could not believe my eyes!"_

"_Could not believe my eyes!"_

Then, in an odd synchronization, I hear all of them sing: _"It came from the clouds! A hunk of metal, burning loud!_

_Crashing with a 'boom'! A gift from Discord's womb!"_

I continued to listen as the first pony was singing alone again: _"Though we face disaster! Discord is not our master!"_

Group: _"We bow not to chaos! We choose to be harmonious!"_

All: _"Through this hardship, we will prevail with friendship! Let us not be jaded or become faded! We bow not to chaos! We choose to be..."_

First pony: _"...harmonious!"_

The crackling of the fire filled the void left after the song with a morbid note. Though, I notice, this was not felt by the ponies as they seemed to be uplifted by the song. The pace was beginning to pick up and things looked like they would be settled before morning.

At least... for the ponies it will be.

* * *

The moon was in the last quadrant of the night sky now. Everyone was home, trying to get as much sleep as they could before sun up.

_Everyone except for Shadow and me, _I think to myself as I stand next to said Spartan, looking at the wreckage and the line of graves in front of it, all visible from the moonlight. Each one had the "soldier's cross": their boots at the bottom with their rifle standing vertically and their helmet sitting atop the rifle with their dog tags hanging from the butt of the rifle. In my right hand was a crumpled and partially burnt picture of one of the Marines' family.

"I am so _sick_ of death," I think out loud, my fists tightening. Feeling a heavy hand rest on my shoulder, I look to Shadow. Her helmet is off, revealing her blonde hair (done in a tight ponytail) and her bright blue eyes. Her mouth set in a frown, she stares at me with a look of sympathy and agreement.

I smile softly at Shadow as I face the row of graves. Walking slowly, I approach one of the crosses. In the shining moonlight, I read the name off the tags: Bale, Joshua.

Using a strap on the helmet, I secure the picture to the helmet before setting my hand palm down on the helmet.

"I hope you are somewhere peaceful," I whisper before stepping back. Turning to Shadow, I motion for you to follow before beginning to walk toward Sweet Apple Acres.

"So. What happened?" I ask, looking at her and hoping that my eyes would say: _This is not the time to be quiet._

I listen as she clears her throat before speaking, her voice cracking from lack of use, "Our team was on a mission. Looking for a MIA Spartan. Somehow, I got separated from the others. Palmer got me evac in the form of that Pelican. On the way to Galileo, the co-pilot shouted something about a slipspace signature. Then, everything went black."

"Then I found you..." I finish, my mind reeling at the prospect of her tale. _The portal I went through was a miniature slipspace rupture. Damage to the rupture caused my transference to this world. _I look over at Shadow, who now had her recovered Sniper Rifle in her hands and was checking over it. Her helmet was magnetized to the small of her back. _Then Shadow's Pelican gets sucked here. From what she described, it sounds like they entered a slipspace bubble._

Looking at the apple trees that we were now passing, I felt my mind begin to throb from the processing power I was trying to access. _Why here? What is so special about this place?_

"Mack!" I hear someone shout before that someone collides into me. Putting one foot back, I barely keep myself from falling as I look at the orange pony that has her forelegs wrapped around me.

"Hey Applejack," I reply, glancing at Shadow. The look of jealousy on her face was surprising.

The orange mare let me go and was now standing on all four hooves, looking up at me, "Where were you at? When the fires were out, I looked around for ya but couldn't find you anywhere?"

"I was at the wreckage Applejack," I gesture to Shadow, "We both were. We were... burying our comrades."

Applejack is now looking at Shadow as if just noticing her. Her eyes travel over the armor before going back to me, "She's a Spartan, ain't she?"

"Yes. Shadow meet Applejack. Applejack meet Shadow."

The two shake appendages but I can see the air of contest between them. Even in this time of sadness, the female mind never fails to mark out "enemies".

"Well," Applejack begins, turning back to me, "Ya best get some sleep. We got a long day ahead of us."

"That we do," I reply before motioning Shadow along, "Come on Shadow, I'll show ya to where we'll be sleeping. I mean," I look at Applejack, "if it's no hassle for her to stay here too."

"Nope," she replies halfheartedly, "no hassle at all."

"Alright... well, come on Shadow."

Walking past Applejack, I head inside, aware of the possible stare down happening behind me.

_Why are women so damn crazy?_

_**A/N: There we go; trying to end on a more comedic note. Yay for plot advancement!**_

_**Questions, comments, concerns? Leave a review! ...please.**_


	14. Chapter 14

Waking up, all I could hear is the steady drumming of fingers against word. Opening my eyes, I look over to the noise to see Shadow sitting in the corner that I had claimed during my first night in this world.

_Wait? How is she?_

The events of last night flood into my mind and I find myself frowning. _Right, that's how._

Seeing me looking at her, Shadow stopped her drumming on the floor and moved her hand in a wave. A smile sat upon her face at seeing me awake.

"Morning. Sleep well?" I ask while stretching my arms and back. I watch as Shadow shakes her hand to say 'sorta'.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well either when I slept like that. Twilight, one of the ponies here, can take it off if you want," I explain as I stand and begin to slip on my pants. At that exact moment, the door opens to reveal a wide awake Applejack. I watch as she looks at me, my half-raised pants, and then to Shadow sitting in the corner. The look of confusion and hurt on her face almost tore my heart from my chest.

"AJ, it's not what you-"

_SLAM!_

"Damn it..."

I look at Shadow to see the questioning look on her face, with an added hint of victory.

"I explained to her why humans wore clothes and, well, this doesn't look like it would be a normal situation."

"I don't see why she cares..." I hear Shadow whisper as she starts to get to her feet. I roll my eyes but remain silent as I finish getting dressed, remembering to buckle my holster, with pistol inside, to my thigh.

Now dressed, I walk to the door and pass through it into the hallway. Hearing crying down the hall, I walk down it to AJ's door. I raise a hand to knock but hesitate. Finally, I knock two times against the door.

"Go away!" she shouts from within her room.

"If you'd just let me explain!" I shout back.

"I don't need no explanation! I know what I saw!" she yells. Exasperated, I throw my hands into the air before turning and walking to the stairs, motioning Shadow to follow. I hear the sucking of air from a sealing helmet but shrug it off as I stomp down the stairs and into the parlor. In said parlor was Apple Bloom, who was watching Shadow with wide eyes.

"There's another one of you?" she asks, bewilderment in her voice.

"No... well, yes," I begin, chuckling, "Shadow here is another Spartan but she's a different person."

"Oh... I see," replies the young filly before asking: "Ya heading into town?"

I look at the floor as the past night floods into my mind again. _So much destruction. All because of some stupid slipspace bubble._

"Yeah, we are."

I almost fell to the floor when the filly collides with my legs, forelegs wrapped around me.

"Be safe," she says before letting go and going back to the book that she had been doodling in.

"I will," I reply, surprise from her actions flowing through me.

With nothing else to do in the house, I walk outside into the daylight. To my mild surprise, I see that the sun is only halfway through it's morning arc. I look back at Shadow to see that she does have her helmet on. She also has her Sniper Rifle attached to her back and her pistol to her thigh.

"Why do you have all that? You won't need it."

All I get in reply is a shrug. Sighing, I find myself rolling my eyes again today before turning and walking down the path towards Ponyville. In the direction of town, I watch as a column of smoke drifts into the sky.

Continuing the walk, I listen to the soft thumping of armored boots behind me.

"What happened to you?" I hear Shadow whisper.

"That's a bit of an easy tale," I begin, "When it was my turn to go through the portal, I was ambushed by a Knight and a Charger. The Knight hit the portal with a heavy weapon while the Charger knocked me into the man cannon. The heavy weapon damaged the portal, causing the Charger and myself to be dropped into the local Castle's ballroom during a dance. The Charger and I fought with me winning. It then blew up and I used myself as a shield to protect their Princess. Woke up in a medical wing and tada! I'm now here in this village working on a farm."

I look back at her to see her nodding in understanding. Looking forward, I chuckle and shake my head.

It wasn't long before we were walking into the town proper. Ponies moved around in an almost zombie like state, their glances to Shadow and me being ones of fear and confusion rather than the acceptance I was used to. A flash of rainbow blocked my view before it cleared, showing an upset Rainbow Dash standing in front of me.

"Princess Celestia is looking for you. She's at the... wreck, thing," she explains before flying off, possibly to assist with clean-up. Walking toward the park, I look at the destroyed houses to see many ponies trying to clear the rubble. I could feel pity for them but I knew it wasn't as much as I probably should be feeling. _War dulls the emotions... along with everything else._

The walk to the park was short but with the combination of the stares of the ponies and the moving of rubble, it seemed like an eternity. Walking around a pile of rubble, I could first see the Pelican wreckage. Then I could see Celestia standing before the row of graves Shadow and me had dug the night and filled the night before.

As I walk towards the Princess of the day, I watch as she reads one dog tag and then goes on to the next. Approaching from behind, I step bout five steps back and look back to Shadow with a look that hopefully said: Behave.

"Princess?" I ask, looking back at said alicorn. After a moment of pause, she turns around to fully look at me, her wings spread in a regal manner.

"Ah, Mack," she then looks at Shadow and nods, "and friend."

"Her name's Shadow, Princess," at the look of her confusion, I add, "She doesn't talk much."

"I see," Celestia replies before glancing at the Pelican and graves, "What is all this?"

"The mass of metal in the ground is a crashed Pelican, Princess. A Pelican is a flying machine that my people use to deliver troops and material to and from the battlefield," I explain.

"And the graves are those of it's occupants?" she asks, glancing at Shadow.

"Yes ma'am. Besides Shadow, the occupants of this craft died during the crash. The graves are those occupants," a pause as I shift from foot to foot, "Those that we could easily get to, at least."

"'That you could easily get to'?"

"Yes Princess. The nose of the craft, which you can see is buried and broken, contains two more bodies. They are both buried underneath the dirt and are probably also trapped in the twisted metal."

"Ah," was her only reply as she turns to glance at the graves again.

"I apologize for burying them in the park, Princess. It's just that-"

"No," Celestia interrupts, raising a hoof to me, "don't explain. There is no need. I understand that you simply wished to honor your fallen comrades. Even so, it will take time to remove this... Pelican. Until a more suitable spot could be found and until the wreck is removed, the graves shall remain."

"Thank you Princess," I reply as I bow at the waist.

"Now. I'm assuming you were going to help with the clean-up?" Though she had phrased it like a question, the tone behind it was telling me that I only had one option.

"Of course Princess," I respond. It isn't a lie as I was going to help no matter what.

"Then you may leave to assist," she states before turning around to face the graves again.

Taking two steps back, I turn around and begin to walk to the houses, aware that Shadow still followed me.

"That was lovely," I hear Shadow whisper.

"Well, one of _our _ships did just crush four homes in _her _kingdom," I rebuke, looking back at Shadow to see her give another shrug. _Yeah, just shrug it all off, Shadow, _I think to myself as I roll my eyes again.

_**A/N: New chapter! Little on the short side but... I guess they've all been kind of on the short side.**_

_**As always: Please leave a review!**_


	15. Chapter 15

The day went on as if night would never come. After the talk with Celestia, I had gone to Twilight's library to have her put on my armor. When she asked why, I explained that it would help me move the rubble. She seemed okay with this as she put it on for me. Unlike Shadow, I didn't wear my helmet. Instead, it was magnetized to my lower back and I left my Assault Rifle behind. I had also convinced Shadow to leaver her Sniper Rifle with my Assault Rifle, which was a victory in itself.

Lifting a pile of wood, I turn to dump it in the awaiting cart. As I do, I feel a deliberate tap of my arm by Shadow. Dropping the wood into the cart, I signal for the pony to head to the debris collection area as I turn back to Shadow. Looking at her, I see her tap the side of her helmet.

Sighing, I take my helmet off of my lower back and slide it onto my head. As I wait for the seals and the HUD to boot-up, I start collecting more debris for the carts. Taking a glance around, I notice that we're almost done with pick-up. Only a couple more handfuls, or hooffuls as case may be, from each house and we should be done picking up the loose debris. All we would have to do after is tear down the destroyed frames so they couldn't be blown away by a strong wind and hurt someone.

_*Why are we helping them?_

The message popped up in the center of my visor, startling me. Glancing over at Shadow, I roll my eyes behind my visor. Using neural commands, I move the message box to a corner before continuing to work. As I worked, I put together a reply message.

#_Because our ship caused the mess._

_*And? This isn't our planet. These aren't our people. We need to focus on getting back._

_#How are we going to get back? Click our heels three times?_

_*There has to be a way. We just have to find it._

_#And until then?_

_*..._

_#Well?_

_*I don't know._

_#Exactly. So until then, we will help the locals as best they can. Understood?_

No reply came. Instead, the message screen disappeared, signifying that Shadow ended the link-up. _Stubborn, stubborn girl, _I think to myself as I toss debris onto a cart.

Again, seconds began to blend into minutes and minutes into hours. On we worked, now tearing down the rest of the frames. In the later part of the day, I stand from the work and stretch my back. I still have my helmet on, not wanting to remove it in case Shadow began pestering me again. Looking at my HUD, I smile at the familiarity of it all. I see the compass, the shield indicator, the weapon/ammo display and the mini-map that showed two friendly contacts.

_Two?_

I look at where Shadow was last to see her walking over to drop some rubble into a cart. _That's one contact but... who else has an IFF? Surely not the ponies._

Turning to face the other contact, I see nothing but ponies. Looking up, though, I see something floating above the village. Using the magnification on my visor, I zoom in to see that it's a small, floating machine with two blue suspensors.

_A Watcher? How is it here? And why is it blue? They're normally orange._

The message screen popped up again:

*_You see it too?_

_#The Watcher hovering over us?_

_*Yeah. It's marked as friendly, what do we do?_

As soon as my helmet received that message, the suspensors of the Watcher came together and it began to zoom off in the direction of the Everfree forest.

I turn to Shadow and, totally forgetting the message screen, shout: "Follow it! I'll get our gear!"

Shadow nods and bolts off after the machine. I watch her for a second before I start charging past the confused ponies to the Library. I barge into the library, much to the surprise of Twilight.

"What's going on? Why are you wearing your helmet?" she asks in rapid succession as I rush to her closet. Ripping open the door, I grab Shadow's Sniper Rifle and place it on my back.

"Machine! From Requiem! Shadow, chasing! Got to go!" I yell as I grab my Assault Rifle and dash from the library. Now with our gear, I sprint toward the Everfree, hoping that Shadow is still trailing the machine. In fact:

_#You still got eyes on?_

_*Yeah. Something like that._

_#What happened?_

_*Just hurry up. Heading: South by southeast, about a km in._

_#Roger._

By the time the messaging was done, I was entering the forest. Turning myself so that the reading of my compass matched my heading, I tried to quicken my sprint. Whether I went faster or not, I don't know.

It wasn't long before I broke into a clearing. Skidding to a stop, I examine the scene before me. Standing in the middle of the clearing is Shadow with the Watcher hovering in front of her. Both are looking at where I had just barged from the trees.

I saw Shadow motion me over. Walking to her, she went behind me and grabbed her Sniper Rifle from my back while addressing the machine.

"Machine. Tell him what you told me," she says as she steps back in front of the machine, her rifle now in hand. I turn to the machine as it begins to speak.

"Greetings Reclaimer. Now that we are well away from the indigenous population. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Caregiver Hiana," the Watcher turns to Shadow, "I am no machine. I am simply using this Watcher to communicate with you."

"Forerunner?" I ask, dumbfounded.

The Watcher turns back to me before answering, "Correct."

_Forerunner! _I exclaim in my mind. _This explains why the bubbles took us here!_ _Here?_

"Where are we?"

"You are within Shield Installation 008..."

_That explains a lot..._

"...otherwise known as Earth."

Shadow and me look at each other before looking at the Watcher: "What?"

_**A/N: Yay! Update! Hope y'all like this twist. =)**_

_**As always: Please leave a review.**_

_**...hehe... 69...**_


	16. Chapter 16

"Did I understand that correctly? Did you say we're on Earth?" I ask, looking around at the trees and thinking about the talking ponies.

"No, Reclaimer, you must have heard wrong. I said that you are **within** Shield Installation 008," explains the Watcher, bobbing as if in aggravation.

Opening my mouth to respond, I closed it, allowing myself to think about the 'how'. Obviously, Earth as I knew it was not a thin crust. We would have discovered this 'other side' quickly and began to colonize it. There were two goddess-like beings that controlled the sun and the moon. Maybe...

"Dyson sphere?" I suddenly ask, realizing that my left hand is under my chin while my right hand held the Assault Rifle so it points at the sky.

"Correct!" the Watcher replies, the tinny voice giving a hint of excitement.

"I only have two questions though. How did we not notice it? And aren't Dyson spheres supposed to have the sun in the center?" I ask. I look at Shadow to see her looking at me with a tilt to her head. Shrugging my shoulders at her, I look back at the Watcher to await my answers.

"To answer your first one: we hid the sphere inside an isolated piece of Slipspace and then hid that... bubble, if you will, in your planet's core."

"So the heat and magnetic interference wouldn't allow us to notice it!"

"Correct! For your second question: This is an experimental facility to study the effects of a reverse Dyson environment. See, the 'sun' is actually a powerful UV emitter that replicates the effects of an actual sun. The 'moon' is simply a less powerful emitter," Explains the Watcher, bobbing excitedly.

"Sorry, one more question: the mythical beings?"

"Like you are mythical to them, they are mythical to you. How amusing," states the Watcher, as if to itself, "To answer your question, you must understand the history behind our two races. See, to this galaxy, you are actually aliens."

"Say again?" I ask, glancing at Shadow.

"You are aliens to this galaxy. See, we Forerunners had spanned this galaxy and built a mighty, and relatively peaceful, empire. We studied life, helped life, and (sadly) destroyed life. We thought we knew all and could defeat all.

"That was when you humans came. You actually came from a distant galaxy in massive fleets and began to attack our planets. As you took a planet, you settled it and called it your own. You swept across our empire like a scourge, wiping out any of us who stood in your way."

"How?" Shadow asks.

"Your weapons and your ferocity. Even then you used ballistic weaponry, which our armor didn't really protect us from. As well, you were (and still are, mind you) fierce fighters who gave no land and didn't stop until one side or the other was utterly destroyed.

"Of course, we later learned that you weren't just mindless savages. But I'm getting ahead of myself. When we finally did defeat you, which is a tale in itself, you were not the large empire that you once were. Your species had been annihilated until you had one planet left. It was just by the intervention of the Librarian and the smart surrender by your commanders that allowed you to survive.

"Though you had that planet, it was war torn and unsuitable for your life. So, we Caregivers looked for a planet to suit you."

"And you found Earth," I guess.

"Correct. Earth was the perfect match, we realized. However, there was a problem."

"The 'mythical' beings?"

"Correct again. We were just finishing up this Installation when the war ended. So we began to move the beings into the unfinished Installation. The Didact though, in his **infinite** wisdom, saw us as moving to slow. Thus he dumped you humans onto this world while we were still moving beings. Of course, first he stripped you of most of your technology and made sure some of his Warrior-Knights were placed here in Crypts."

"Which brings about the tales of Dragons, Hydras, Pegasi, and so on..." I state as the pieces in my mind slowly fall together. Then, something else decided to pop into my mind, "You said something about discovering we weren't just 'mindless savages'. What was that?"

"Why, the Flood of course," replies the Watcher."

"The Flood?" Shadow asks.

"Yes, the Flood. See, after we defeated and isolated your species is when we began to fully build the Sword and Shield Installations, in case you ever grew powerful and began to attack again. However, again, we were attacked from something unexpected. The Flood. They came from the same galaxy as you did and swarmed across our empire, ravaging everything.

"Our weapons were basically useless. However, we soon discovered that Human weapons, **your** weapons, seemed to have been specifically made to deal with the Flood. So, the Human armies rose to space again. The Didact took you, and your species, and used you as soldiers in this new war. You fought with the same ferocity as you did when you fought us."

"Hang on," I spout, holding up my left hand, "back up. You're saying that the Flood and Humanity came from the same galaxy?"

"Correct. Why else do you think they can match your form so perfectly?" questions the Watcher.

"And then you say that you used us as soldiers to fight the Flood?" I ask again.

"Correct. It was in your genes to fight the Flood, as you had been fighting them since long before our two species met. Sadly, sometimes we had to use... alternative methods to get you to fight."

"The Prometheans..." I hiss.

"Yes. The Promethean Knights are ancient humans who have been turned into code to fight for us against the Flood. They were as fierce as you but they could not fully die. Perfect soldiers."

"But you still lost?" Shadow asks.

"It was inevitable. What with our thinking that the war could not fully harm us and the beginning of a lower species rebellion, we could not continue to hold back the Flood for long. On the verge of being overrun, we moved our highers and Caregivers to Shield Installations and fired the Sword Installations while trying to shield some worlds of the lower species."

"Thus annihilating the Flood and any Forerunners not in Shield Installations," I finish, my mind running on overtime to process all this information and the meaning of it all.

"Some ponies are nearing this position," the Watcher suddenly says as it looks off in the direction of Ponyville, "I will contact you in the future. Good luck Reclaimers."

Before either of us could respond, the Watcher became invisible and completely disappeared from my motion tracker. No shimmer gave sign of where it was either.

_Good luck? _I ask myself, those two words coming to the forefront of my mind. _What could she have mea-_

"Mack!" I hear someone call in a southern accent.

"Applejack?" I call back in a questioning voice.

"I hear him! Over here y'all!" shouts the voice shortly before she steps into the clearing. Seeing the two of us, she glares at Shadow before looking at me.

"What the hay are you doing out here? You gave everypony a scare!" she yells, stomping her hoof.

"Sorry AJ. We thought we saw something else of ours land over here and came to check it out," I lie, hoping it sounds convincing.

"Ya weren't doing anything else?" she asks, her eyes squinting into a leer.

"AJ," I begin, tapping my helmet, "we're sealed up tighter than the legs of a Vegas virgin. We didn't do nothing inappropriate."

"Tighter than a..." she shakes her head before pointing back to Ponyville, "Never mind that! Get marching mister! Right now!"

Rolling my eyes at her response, I glance at Shadow before holstering my rifle and beginning the walk back to Ponyville. As I walk, the talk with the Caregiver echoes through my mind.

_'Good luck Reclaimers.' What could she have meant by that?_

_**A/N: Conversation! Always fun. Sorry for the lack of action but I hope I made it up with the amount of mindf*** in this chapter. The real funny thing is that most of that history is from the Halo Forerunner Trilogy books. Interesting stuff indeed.**_

_**Questions, comments, concerns? Please leave a review.**_


	17. Chapter 17

The walk back to Ponyville was long and awkward. The other ponies caught up with us and asked me what we were doing and they got the same answer as Applejack did. They all bought it. I did feel a little bad about lying to them but it had to be done as it was plainly obvious that the Caregiver did not want the ponies to know about her existence.

_Work from the shadows._

Chuckling at the thought, I realized that we were now back in Ponyville. The clean-up had been completed without us and everyone had gone home.

"Mack," Applejack starts. I look at her to see her looking back, "before we came out searching for you, the Princess wanted to speak with ya in Twilight's library," her eyes become slits as she adds, "Then we gotta talk."

Silences descends upon us again as everyone of the ponies besides Twilight breaks away from our group. Twilight just gives me a glance before continuing with her walk. I look around to town to see that it's extremely quiet, as everyone is probably trying to catch up on their sleep. _I know I would be if I had a choice in the matter. _I think to myself as we continue our walk through town.

"Hang on," I hear Shadow whisper, causing our procession to stop. I turn to her to see her walking toward the park that was nearby. Following her, I motion Twilight along,

"Best way to learn is to witness," I state, remembering how much she wanted to learn about my species. I don't see her response as I walk after Shadow to the line of graves. When she reaches the graves, she gets to one knee and makes a cross over her chest. Then she lowers her head.

"What is she doing?" Twilight asks.

"Praying to her god for him to take these dead soldiers into the afterlife," I answer as I stand behind her with Twilight beside me.

"Her god?"

"I'm not religious by any means of the word," I explain. As I finish, Shadows stands back up and turns to me, nodding. "Alright, let's get to the library."

Twilight nods her head and continues leading us on to the library, though it was plainly obvious that she still had questions. _Probably about what 'religion' is._

Reaching the treehouse library, we all step inside to see Celestia with a small smile on her face. Her wings were still spread in a regal manner.

"Twilight, if you and Spike would please leave us to speak alone," Celestia states in a gentle tone. Twilight looks at her, and then us, with confusion before bowing her head to Celestia.

"Of course Princess. Come on Spike!" she calls, said purple dragon being quick to follow the unicorn out of the house. When the door closes, I watch as a yellow glow comes over it and locks appear on the door. Blinds are pulled down over the windows as well.

"Greetings Reclaimers," greets Celestia, her voice now having a certain tinny quality to it.

"Knew it," I state chuckling as I remove my helmet. After my helmet was off, I look over at Shadow to see her looking at me with a tilted head, "Oh come on! You didn't honestly believe that two fully organic beings with no knowledge of the Caregiver would be able to, or allowed to, move the 'sun' and 'moon', did you?"

Shadow's look continues for a couple seconds before she shakes her head and looks at Celestia. I look back at Celestia as well to see her looking at me with amusement.

"You seem to be a keen one, Reclaimer," Celestia states before she continues with, "You are correct. I am the AI: Morning's Glory. 'Princess Luna' is the AI: Dusk's Shadow. We both serve Lady Hiana as her... handlers, if you will, of these lower species."

"So you're the eyes, ears, and hands... erm, I mean hooves, of the Caregiver?" I ask, mentally cursing at the obvious mistake.

"That is one way to put it," Celestia states with a nod, "Now that the Lady Hiana has initiated contact, we have been commanded to assist you in sealing the slipspace portals that are appearing here and getting you out of this Installation."

"So we help you and then you kick us out?"

"You were not meant to be here in the first place. You have already ruined thousands of years of work and planning. Not only that but you have brought destruction to this village," she explains.

"The portals? What's causing them?" Shadow whispers, glancing at me. I could feel her glare and the words behind it: _"We are going home."_

"Are you familiar with the story behind Luna's banishment?"

"A little," I reply, "Twilight said that Luna grew jealous and refused to lower the moon causing you to banish her with the elements of harmony."

"That is the tale, yes, but it is far from the truth," Celestia begins, "As AIs, we have a certain span of time in which we are capable of optimal operation. At a certain point, our cores must be purged of certain code strings or else we go mad. Dusk's Shadow, without Lady Hiana or me realizing, did not go in for a purge when she was supposed to. This caused her to go mad and try to take control of the Installation. The battle was drawn away from the indigenous population where other constructs were able to assist in subduing, shutting down, and removing Dusk to be purged."

"Why the thousand year wait?" I ask.

"Because when an AI goes mad, the corrupted code grabs onto uncorrupted code. So you can't just delete it or else you erase the uncorrupted code as well, thus destroying the AI. Instead, Lady Hiana had to manually enter Dusk's cortex and first separate the code and then destroy the corrupted code. It was a very timely task. When she was done, we brought Dusk back disguised as her corrupted self to convince the ponies that it was not by the power of force itself that she was 'healed' but also by the power of friendship and care."

"That... actually makes sense. However, it doesn't answer Shadow's question about the portals," I state, crossing my arms as best I could with my helmet still in my hand.

"Ah, the portals. See, though Lady Hiana purged the corrupted data strings from Dusk, some of the strings were able to avoid complete destruction and hide on some of the coding for the Installation _itself_. There it multiplied and spread. By the time the three of us noticed and were able to isolate it, it had already taken control of a quarter of the facility. That includes a small slipspace generator. The corruption has been able to link the generator with Requiem."

"Causing us to be sucked through."

"Correct."

"Okay," I begin, "Just so I have this straight. We delve into a Forerunner facility controlled by a mad piece of an AI to delete the AI from existence to return control of the entire facility to the Caregiver. Is that correct?"

"No. You are simply to get to the section's control center and return control of that section to Lady Hiana. She will take care of the rest."

"And then we're zipping through slipspace back to Requiem?"

"Correct, all evidence of your existence will be deleted," she says in a calm voice.

"Deleted?" Shadow and me ask in unison, glancing at each other.

"Yes, deleted. Memories will be altered, terrain reverted, and things rebuilt. It will be as if you were never here," she pauses before adding, "As it should be."

_**A/N: More talking! Now we're getting into the actual plot. In your face? Eh, maybe. To be fair, though, the Halo games were kind of in your face too. "Hi! I'm 343 Guilty Spark, follow me as I lead you on an ADVENTUUUURE! …oh, and watch out for the Flood."**_

_**Anyway, rants aside... Questions, comments, concerns? Please leave a review.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_As it should be..._

Those four words echo around in my head. I couldn't find a reason to reject that, that was true. Though the ponies had their myths of humans, we were obviously not meant to be within the sphere. To alter a being's mind though? Erase weeks of experiences. Would the memories simply be gone? Would it be just a blank spot in their mind, as if it was mass amnesia?

That very thought in itself, well... it should not be thought. Our experiences make us who we are and if some of it was to just be... erased, how would that affect the being? Walking along and suddenly... blank spot in your mind that no matter how hard you try, you can't remember what was there. Would it drive them mad? _I know I would go mad, _I think to myself.

However, what right do I have to say no to this AI and her Caregiver? I am a trespasser in a facility that no one outside it should know existed. If I were to say no, what would happen then? Would I be eliminated? Would they alter my mind? ...Would they use someone against me?

_And if I say no, what will come through the portal next? A group of paranoid Marines? Covies? _Either option was full of chaos and death for these ponies. _It seems my mind has been made for me._

"Fine," I finally say, glancing at Shadow before looking directly at Morning's Glory, "we'll help."

"Though I am pleased you see our point, we weren't asking," Celestia responds, her tone shallow.

Ignoring the comment, I ask, "When are we being sent down?"

"You are already being sent, Reclaimer," she replies, motioning with a hoof at my legs. I look down to see them slowly disappearing into a blue cloud of one's and zero's.

"What the hell is this?" I ask, trying to lift a leg to find out that I couldn't.

"Organic Transportation through Binary Channels," Celestia states calmly, "Created by Lady Hiana herself. Many unicorns can actually tap into it. Saves them energy during teleportation and they still don't learn anything of their home's true form. Brilliant, is it not?"

"Not when my legs are slowly being dissolved!" I shout at the AI.

"Ah yes. Sadly, since you are neither programs nor unicorns, the process is much slower for you. It has to be, of course. Else you would end up... disfigured."

"What is happening?" I growl, watching as the blue cloud of code reaches my groin.

"The installation is scanning your body using microscopic nanites. The nanites take perfect binary copies of your cells and then... absorb them. Then the nanites shoot the code into the installation's binary channels to be sent to the location of choice. Nanites then assemble and remake the cells in your body, allowing a perfect 'you' to be created at the other side. Your memories, your strengths, your weaknesses, everything that makes you, you is transported. As I said before: Brilliant."

_Brilliant my ass, _I growl in my mind as the cloud reaches my chest.

"And don't worry of your friends. They will be told that I have sent you on a mission of utmost importance," she continues, the tinny quality of her voice retracting when she said the last two words, "Farewell Reclaimers."

With that, the cloud fully overtook us and all I could see was a wall of ever-changing one's and zero's. I looked around and made the discovery that in this realm I had no body. I had only eyes to see the one's and zero's. I watch the one's and zero's since there was nothing... _Was that a two? _Too late. It had already changed by the time I finished my thought.

It wasn't long though, before I saw another two. It wasn't blue like the others, it was red. Focusing, I began to notice many red numbers in the view of binary. _Each red number has to be a two, _I reason to myself, seeing the amount of red slowly increase.

It wasn't long before my entire view was that of red two's with sporadic blue one's and zero's.

"You are being fooled Reclaimer," echos a feminine voice from the void of two's, "Listen to my voice. Do as the pretenders wish but when you meet me, I will explain to you what has truly happened."

With a red flash, the two's disappeared. The view was once again the boring one's and zero's in the blue tinge. _What the hell just happened? _I think to myself.

Before I could come up with an answer, a blue flash overtakes me, causing me to clench my eyes shut. When I opened them, I found that I was in a small metal room with no visible door and a locker. Looking down, I saw that I now had my body back but... I was naked.

"What the fuck?" I ask the air.

"Your armor could not be transported," responds the familiar voice of the Caregiver from what I assume to be a hidden speaker, "It was primitive and bulky anyway, not fit for a soldier of a Caregiver."

_Soldier of a... what? _I think to myself.

The locker then opens to reveal a glossy black outfit that looked to be skin-tight. A blue faceplate adorns the front in a thin visor while a blue-lit Suppressor rifle sits to it's left and a blue-lit Boltshot pistol sits to it's right.

"You have experience with these correct?" asks the Caregiver.

"The weapons, yeah. Not the armor though," I reply, stepping forward to the locker. As I do, the armor and weapons extend out to me, meeting me halfway.

"The armor is a Class Fifteen Combat Skin. It is much more effective then your armor, which classifies as a Class Two. It is very effective against most Forerunner and Promethean weaponry and greatly increases your reflexes and strength," explains the Caregiver in more detail than I thought possible.

"I thought you were a Caregiver, not a General," I joke as I touch the armor. With the hissing of seals, it opens up to allow me to step into it.

"Well," the Caregiver starts, hesitating. _Strange, _I think as I step into the armor, "all Forerunners were ordered to wear Combat Skins at the later parts of the infection."

When I step into the armor, the Caregiver's hesitation leaves my mind as the armor seals around me. At first, I thought it to be too big. When the first section of armor touched my skin, though, it began to shrink to my size. When all was said and done, I found myself encased in a skin-tight, comfortable suit of armor. Little pricks went down my spine before the HUD flashed to life.

_^System Initializing^_

_^Connection With Wearer Made^_

_^Systems Green^_

At the end of the start-up, icons began to appear. They filled the visor before clearing to only a few icons that lay outside of my immediate field of vision.

"Sweet," I breath as I step out off the platform. I feel the increased power and yet it didn't make me overstep like so many Spartan trainees did when they first got their armor. _The armor is compensating, _I think to myself as I raise my hands and flex them, admiring the armor.

"Please grab your weapons and step through the portal when ready," the Caregiver orders.

Before I could say anything about the lack of anything, I hear a whining and soft snapping. In front of me, a slipspace portal (like the ones on Requiem) materializes in front of me. Grabbing the pistol, I check it's ammo. Like all Promethean weapons, the weapon seemingly falls apart to allow the clip to be ejected. Seeing that it had a full charge, I put the clip back and watch as the weapon reassembles itself. Smiling, I put it near my thigh and watch as a soft blue glow reaches out and grabs onto the pistol.

_If we had this armor on Requiem..._ I think to myself as I grab the Suppressor and look it over quickly. The Suppressor was like the Promethean Assault Rifle. Instead of firing bullets, though, it fired hardlight rounds. Very devastating against anything. The Boltshot also fired hardlight rounds.

With rifle in hand, I look at the portal. Deciding to be safe rather than sorry, I raise my rifle before stepping through. On the other side, I look around to see that I'm alone in a hallway. Off to my right though, I see the blue lighting become red. Hovering near the red section, but not too close, were two Forerunner Sentinel security drones.

A whine and snap causes me to raise my rifle and aim at a newly formed portal. I wait and watch to see someone step through wearing the same armor as myself. Only, this one was on a female frame and accentuated _every_ curve of her body. _I'm glad I'm wearing armor, _I think to myself as I lower my rifle.

"Shadow?" I ask. The other figure nods her head before looking down at her armor.

"What do ya think?" she asks in a slight whisper as she looks back up at me through her visor.

"I think it's some nice armor. Fits you perfectly," I reply, again happy that I wasn't wearing normal clothes. I notice that she has a Lightrifle in addition to her own Boltshot. The Promethean Lightrifle is akin to the UNSC's Designated Marksman Rifle, so I assume the Caregiver realized Shadow was made for more long-range encounters.

"Alright Guardians," begins the Caregiver in our helmets. _Guardians? _"Down the hallway, where you see the red, is the beginning of the corrupted zone. Remember, just get in there, get to the control facility, and transfer the section control to me. I'll lose contact with you once you past into the corrupted zone so... good luck."

With a click, she left our helmets. I look at Shadow and can feel her doubt and confusion. _I wonder if she encountered the encounter in the binary world as well, _I mentally ask myself. _Save it until **she **can't hear us, _I mentally add.

Motioning with my head, I begin to move down the hallway to the red. I just _think_ about what Shadow might be looking at and a new screen pops up to the side showing...

"Shadow, stop staring at my ass and get your rifle up," I say with amusement dripping from my voice. I then see her point of view shift to the hallway ahead and see her rifle come up to point over my shoulder.

_How I love technology._

_**A/N: Update, Update, UPDAAAAATE! Sorry for the really long wait everyone. For those of you who read Salvation, you already know why. For those of you who don't, here's why it took so long:**_

_**Enlisting in Army, family troubles, girl troubles, trying to graduate, Skyrim, and shooting.**_

_**I apologize again though and will get the next chapter out as soon as I can.**_

_**Question, comments, concerns? Please leave a review.**_


	19. Chapter 19

It had been about two minutes since we had crossed into the "red" zone.

"See anything Shadow?" I ask as I continue walking down the lone hallway. A red light flashes in my HUD; a sign that the Spartan behind me sees nothing out of the ordinary. Sighing, I continue down the hallway. _This one hallway..._

The sliding of metal on metal stole my attention from my thoughts. Ahead of me, an orange lit Promethean Knight steps out into the hallway, it's weapon leveled at me.

"Contact!" I shout, raising my rifle and firing as the Knight does the same. A blue shield pops up around my body to deflect the Knight's rounds. My own rounds tear through the shields of the Knight and, before I can blink, the Knight has dissolved into binary code and been absorbed back into the data stream of the corrupted sector.

"It's down," I say, unsure as I look at the weapon in my hands. _This seems to be a lot more powerful... _I think to myself as I glance back at Shadow. I see her motion with her head in the direction that the Knight come from.

Nodding, I look forward and jog to where the Knight appeared, my rifle up the entire time. Reaching the place that the Knight came from, a door slides open. A green light flashes in my HUD and I swing into the room, the flashlights on my helmet coming alive as the suit senses the dark room.

Sweeping my rifle around the room, I see nothing but an empty room. No other door, no obvious emitters, nothing. Lowering my rifle, I reach out to the wall to see if there's a pressure pad. When my glove gets within an inch of the wall, a red spark leaps from the wall onto my index finger. My map suddenly flashes red. Retracting my hand, the map goes back to it's cool blue color.

"Careful around the walls Shadow," I say as I turn around. Walking to the door, I get to the frame before my body catches aflame in pain. I want to scream as it feels like my flesh gets ripped from the bone slowly. It's not long before the black blissfulness of unconscious takes me.

Opening my eyes, I look through the now blank visor to see a plain, metallic floor I'm laying on. Pushing myself to a kneeling position, I look around to see nothing but an empty void surrounding me and the tiny island of metal. None of my weapons are with me either.

"The hell?"

"Greetings, Reclaimer," I hear a familiar voice say from behind me. Shooting to my feet, I spin around to face the speaker, body poised for combat. My body involuntarily relaxes when I see who spoke.

Floating over the void in front of me is a woman of angelic beauty. Her frame is covered in silk that's so white, it would hurt unshielded eyes. Her eyes of vibrant blue appear to stare into my soul as a white light illuminates her silhouette, yet does not cover her in shadow.

"I am Caregiver Hiana, the _true_ Hiana," states the floating being.

"Wait," I say, slowly regaining my ability to function, "what do you mean; 'true'?"

"Ah," it began in a sympathetic, yet kind tone, "I do suppose that deserves explanation."

I simply nod my head before she continues, "The being who gave you your mission is pretending to be me so that you will do what it says. In fact, I don't have control over about ninety-seven percent of the systems in this 'corrupted' sector. The Imposter controls it still and is using it to back up it's 'claim'."

"Than what do you have control over?" I ask suddenly. She seems caught off guard but quickly recovers as she smiles kindly to me.

"Only of my own cryo unit, some defensive systems, and a low-power Slipspace gate," she replies, "The gate I used to bring you and your friend to this facility."

My mind reels from this new information. _However... _"When I was brought here, though, it was through a damaged portal."

"The portal was not damaged, dear Reclaimer. The metal may have been bent but it was not damaged. Were it not for my... meddling, you would have made it through with your team. I needed you here though, to assist me in reclaiming my facility," a look of guilt crosses her face as she continues, "Sadly, my aim was off when I brought your friend here. My miscalculation caused the deaths of those men and the partial destruction of that village," she pauses as she takes a calming breath, "I have not tried since that incident."

I shift my weight from foot to foot, "Say I believe that you are the real Caregiver; who took control of your facility and what do they want?"

The Caregiver's frown turns back into a kind smile, "The rogue portion of Dusk's Shadow's programming, I'm afraid. I assume it told you Dusk's Shadow's story?" I nod my head, "It was all true. She went without her routine clean-up. When I finally purged her systems, it escaped into the facility's systems where it manifested out of control. Soon it had control of everything but the two systems I now control. As to it's goals; I believe it seeks to bring the facility out of Slipspace."

My eyes widen as I remember what Morning's Glory had told me, "But this facility is at the center of the Earth!"

Hiana simply nods as she is now smiling sadly at the void below her, "Indeed it is. If this facility is brought out of Slipspace, it will cause the destruction of Earth and it's neighboring planets. As well, the gravitational pull that will be exhibited by the facility will smash, scatter, and/or reorganize the remainder of your Solar System."

I stand silently as I contemplate what she said. _This facility isn't just responsible for ensuring pony existence but human existence too._

"Why doesn't it?" I ask, "Bring the facility out, I mean."

"The Rogue requires control of all of the facilities Slipspace gates, regardless of the strength of the gate, to bring the facility out of Slipspace. To this goal, the Rogue has tried everything. From hacking to sending machines to try to physically access it. I have stopped all of it's attempts... so far. I fear that I will not be able to withstand another year of it's attempts. That is why I need your help, Reclaimer."

"Point the way, Caregiver," I reply after a moment's hesitation.

"No Reclaimer, this is not a war to be fought in the physical realm. Continue on your way to my cryo room. There we will speak again and I will show you how we will fight the Rogue," she says with a shake of her head and determination in her voice.

I nod my head in understanding. When I did, Hiana smiles kindly at me again, "Then go, Reclaimer. We will see each other soon."

Darkness claims my vision.

When I open my eyes, I hear the clang of armor against metal and the yelling of another person. Through foggy vision, I see the ground below me. As my vision clears, I look up to see an armored being trying to shake me back into reality.

"-TALK TO ME!" my ears hear as my hearing comes into sharp focus.

"Stop yelling," I order as I shakily get back to my feet, picking up my dropped rifle as I do so. I end up leaning against the door frame, though, when an armored fist connects with my, luckily, armored head.

"You freeze up on me for five minutes and the first thing you do is tell me to stop yelling?" she asks angrily, her voice only a few tones lower than before.

"Yeah," I reply as I stand straight again. She just looks at me but I can tell she's rolling her eyes behind her visor.

"What happened anyway? You tell me to avoid the walls and then you freeze and your visor and armor lights turn red," she asks, her voice to the tone of a normal person. _Still yelling for her._

"I... I don't know," I reply, unsure whether the Rogue is listening, "Come on, let's keep moving."

I can tell she's not satisfied but she nods and takes point as she continues down the hall. Falling in behind her, I let my mind wander to my encounter. _Can I trust her?_

_**A/N: Yay! New chap! Sorry it didn't come out yesterday. I had bought the new StarCraft and found out it had to download a ton of patches. I ended up having to leave my computer on overnight for it to finish.**_

_**Questions, comments, concerns? Please leave a review.**_


	20. Chapter 20

"Reloading!" I shout as I eject the used cartridge from my Suppressor. Grabbing another from my armor, I slam it home before shutting the housing. Without the need to rack a bolt back, I simply raise the weapon and continue firing at the hoard of Promethean and Forerunner units that seem to have appeared from nowhere.

The normal Promethean units were now backed up by red-lit Forerunner Sentinels that fired solid beams of light at a target. The beams of light bit through shields quickly, even on the armor that Shadow and me were wearing.

A constant beeping came through my ears as the top of my HUD began to flash red. _Son of a..._

"Shields down!" I shout as I slide into cover to allow the shields time to recharge.

"We need to get the fuck out of this killzone!" Shadow shouts back as she fires a couple rounds down her side of the hallway.

"I know, alright!" I reply as my shields finish recharging. With the protective barrier back up, I swing around the corner to fire into the mass of robotics.

I found myself almost face to face with a Promethean Knight. I don't even aim as I depress the trigger. At this close of range, there was no way I could miss the hulking opponent. Within a couple seconds, it's being dissolved into code and reabsorbed by the facility. I watch as something drops from it's disappearing frame. After it hit's the ground, I see what it is.

A grenade. Luckily deactivated.

Grabbing it, I activate the grenade and toss it down the hallway at the encroaching mass of circuitry. Reaching the mass, the grenade explodes into a ball of light. A sphere extends out from it for a couple feet, creating a miniature gravitational field that drags anybody within the field closer to the light. After a couple seconds, it explodes, decimating most of the machines.

However, more rush in to the fill the empty places. With my shields down again, I swing back into the room. This time, I notice a doorway in the room that leads into a dark hallway. _That wasn't there before._

"What wasn't?" Shadow asks as she swings into cover herself, her rifle emitting smoke as the used cartridge ejects. _Did I say it out loud?_

"That door! Come on Shadow!" I shout as I push her to the door. Seeing the door, she's quick to run through it and I'm right on her heels. Once we're both through the doorway, I turn to see a Knight and two Sentinels rounding the turn into the room. Before their weapons could fire, a bulkhead slams down into place, separating Shadow and me from the mechanics.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I turn around to see Shadow illuminated by my helmet's flashlights. Her own lights are on and facing down the hallway.

The really dark, really long hallway.

"Fuck Forerunner engineering."

* * *

"Applejack! You need to take a break!"

I hear the voice but it is immediately pushed aside by the sharp _crack_ of my hooves hitting yet another tree trunk.

_How could he just leave like that? _Crack! _I thought he would at least say goodbye! _Crack! _Does what we have mean nothing to him? _Crack! _Why Celestia send him? _Crack! _With that other human too! _Crack! _I swear when he gets back... _**CRUNCH!**

"What?" I ask dumbly before the screaming reaches my ears. Spinning around, I see Dash slammed into the trunk of the tree, her mouth wide open and emitting a pained screech as she holds her chest. Before I could react, Twilight and Fluttershy are already upon her, trying to fix the damage done to their friend. _To my friend. The damage to my friend done by me._

I can feel the tears begin to sting my eyes as I lift a hoof to step closer to them. I don't get to as Fluttershy is immediately in my face with the most angered visage I have ever seen.

"Look what you've done!" she yells. I feel myself lowering before the glare of the angry pegasus, "Dash is hurt because you can't let your friends help you with your problems!"

She continues to yell but I've already retreated into my mind, the tears threatening to break whatever dam sits in their way. _I did this. I hurt Dash. I let myself get between me and my friends. ...Again._

The dam broke, causing tears to rush forth. As they did, I turn and gallop away from the fuming pegasus. I don't go to the barn, no, I turn myself to head to the edge of the property. In my grief-drunk thought, I try to get as far away from other ponies as I could.

So I ran and ran and ran some more.

_**[-INSERT LINE BREAK-]**_

The tunnel just went on and on! We have been walking for hours now and all I can see is blackness beyond the range of my lights. Well, blackness and the back of Shadow. I could see her in perfect detail in the illumination of the flashlights. Her curves and the way they-

_No! No, you have Applejack. Enough of these thoughts!_

Opting to scan our six, I turn around and look down our traveled path. As with the rest of the corridor, there was absolutely nothing to see in the blackness besides a soft red glo-

_Wait? What!_

Before I could voice the find, I hear something slam down behind me. A second later, I feel my back something solid. Turning around, I find that I had run into a bulkhead that had suddenly shut between Shadow and me.

"Shadow!" I shout. No answer. Turning around, I raise my rifle at the approaching red glow, expecting an attack at any time.

"_It is one of my watchers, Reclaimer," _speaks the voice of Lady Hiana from the speakers in my helmet, _"The Rogue has yet to find that I still possess this unit."_

When she finishes speaking, the red glow enters my flashlights' illumination. The light reveals it to be built much like the Guilty Spark AI that had assisted the Master Chief in his journeys near the end of the Human-Covenant War.

Before I could say anything, a cone of light is emitted from the machine. When the light nears the ground, it coalesces into an image. An image of a familiar pony wearing a very familiar hat.

"Applejack!"

_**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but it's pretty late in the night and I need some rest. I hope y'all are enjoying this so far.**_

_**Questions, comments, concerns? Please leave a review.**_


	21. Chapter 21

"Applejack!"

_What in tarnation? _I turn around and jump back at least five feet when I see a blue... something standing near me. It didn't look solid, which was proven when I threw a rock at it and it went straight through the thing. I then noticed that it stood on two legs with a weapon in it's hands.

"Mack?" I ask tentatively. Surely it couldn't be him as he was... solid while this thing certainly isn't.

"The one and only," the thing replies with an amused tone.

"You motherbucker!" I shout before my mind can catch up with my mouth as I try to punch him. My hoof just travels through his... apparition, causing me to fall to stumble to catch my balance. I look back at the apparition with tears in my eyes. He continues looking the same direction he did before, though his shoulders are now slumped forward and his rifle is nearly touching the ground as it hangs from one hand.

"AJ? Can you come back to where you stood before?" he asks in soft, regretful tone, motioning to where I had been sitting in grief.

"Why should I?" I yell, staying behind his apparition, "You left me here with no goodbye or nothing! So why should I do anything for you?"

"I understand your anger, AJ," he says in that regretful tone as he continues to stare at where I was before. _Why is he not looking at me? _"I understand that it was sudden but... stronger ponies than Celestia and Luna are manipulating things in the world."

"What?" I ask blankly, my mind spinning. _Stronger ponies than the Princesses? Ain't possible!_

"If you could please come and stand in front of me," he says again. Slowly, I do what he says and walk around the apparition to sit in front of him. I look at the blue slit that I assume is his visor and try to imagine his hazel eyes looking at me. From his tone, I imagine them looking guilty and slightly hurt.

"I'm sorry that I left AJ but this... being is very bad news for all of the world," he explains from behind that helmet, "If we didn't go on this mission..."

I flinch as he suddenly turns to his left, weapon snapped up to his shoulder and sweeping in tight arcs from left to right. After just a couple seconds, he lowered his rifle halfway and looked back at my image.

"I-I have to go. AJ, I lo-"

The apparition suddenly winked out of existence, cutting Mack off mid sentence.

"Mack!" I shout, jumping at where he had been standing a moment ago. _What was he going to say? It sounded like... but... it can't be. Not through a message..._

I let my rump connect with the ground again and stare straight ahead as fresh tears begin to roll down my face. When the realization finally came, I let my head lower so my gaze settles on the dirt below. _He doesn't expect to come back._

* * *

I reel on the watcher, fire in my eyes, "Why the fuck did you cut me off?"

"_Because you have company," _Hiana replies evenly. Looking behind her watcher, I notice tons of red lights moving down the hallway to me. Now that I'm paying attention, I hear their metallic legs scraping against the floor and walls.

"Fuck."

"_Indeed."_

Turning to the hallway that had just opened, I see that it's lit by soft red lighting. _Better than this corner, _I reason to myself before sprinting down the new hallway. My boots pounding against the floor ring in my ears as I sprint as hard as I can. Glancing back, I see that there was no bulkhead to save me this time. The mechanical killers rounded the corner and began to follow me, some hardlight rounds reaching out for me. Firing over my shoulder, I look back down the path-

to see that I'm about to hit a wall.

"Fuck!" I curse before swinging around the turn into the next hallway. I vaguely notice the decline of this hallway as I continue my dead sprint. Glancing back, and up, I see the machine whirling around the corner.

"Why can't anything be fucking easy?" I shout to the air as I magnetize my rifle onto my back and continue to push my muscles into an even faster run. Another turn was quick approaching, the wall being a give away to it's existence.

Getting to the turn I notice that it's a turn that involves a chute that goes straight down. Also, I notice that I noticed the chute a little too late.

"MOTHER FU-!"

* * *

Opening my eyes, I see my HUD is angrily flashing at me, all of the icons a blood red color. I notice that it isn't that same as when Hiana took over my armor. Something was actually wrong with the armor itself.

"Ugh," I groan, as I move my hand to my head. A lance of pain shooting up my side ends that movement after it barely began, another groan escaping my lips. Using my HUD, I find and open the medical diagnostic to find several parts of my body flashing an angry red. _Damn, _I curse as I shut off the diagnostic, _this armor doesn't have medication or painkillers?_

As if on cue, I feel something prick my skin all over my body. Not a second later, the pain begins to ebb away. _Guess it does, _I think with a smirk as I now fight my way to a sitting position. Looking around, I notice that I'm sitting on a metal floor surrounded by darkness. I flick on my flashlights but they only sputter and die, leaving me literally in the dark about where I am.

Sighing, I push myself to my feet, clenching my teeth from the pain as I do. The painkillers were strong but they weren't _that _strong. The wearer of the armor still had to function afterall. I cough, feeling something wet come up into my mouth. Not wanting to repeat last time, I remove the helmet before the next coughing fit sends some blood onto the metal floor.

Magnetizing my helmet to my armor, I reach for my rifle to find that it's missing from my armor. Looking around, I see nothing but the impenetrable darkness. Muttering a curse, I pull the pistol and give it a brief look over before looking at my surroundings. Shrugging, I pick a direction at random and walk, pistol half-raised.

Feeling like someone is watching me, I look over my shoulder to see a red blur disappear into the darkness. Stopping, I raise my pistol at where the blur was.

"Come out now!" I shout, hoping that it would reveal itself. After two minutes of nothing, though, I realize that it is either gone or stalking me from the shadows. Turning back in the direction I'm walking in, I take a step before running into something metal. Following it up, I have to crane my head back as I do. It goes up and up... and up. Finally-

"Holy shit."

_**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Haha.**_

_**In case you haven't noticed, I have changed my pen name to include Sandstorm Ink. It will not stay that way. A couple days from now (when I can) I will change the pen name again to simply be Sandstorm Inkwell. Any concerns with this should be addressed to me via the Private Messaging system. Thank you.**_

_**Concerning this chapter: Questions, comments, concerns? Please leave a review!**_


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